Posted on August 2, 2016
By Ken Valenti, greenwich time
A contract for the dredging of the clogged Mianus River channel is close to being signed, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In all, about 50,000 cubic yards of sediment are expected to be scooped from the federal channel, which has not been dredged in more than 30 years. The project, requested by the town and sponsored by the state of Connecticut, must be carried out between Oct. 1 and Jan. 31, because of environmental conditions, the Corps said.
Tim Dugan, spokesman for the Corps, said in a phone message last week that a contract has not been signed, but is expected to be finalized soon.
The busy channel, traveled by recreational and commercial boats, was last dredged in 1985, when 53,000 cubic yards of sediment were removed. In recent years, boaters have complained that so much silt has built up, the channel is barely passable in sections at low tide, and boats frequently scrape mud and debris on the bottom.
The project will restore the channel to its authorized dimensions of 6 feet deep and 100 feet wide, running from Cos Cob Harbor up the Mianus River to about 400 feet downstream of the Boston Post Road Bridge. From that point to the bridge, the channel would be 75 feet wide.
The contractor will use a mechanical dredge to scoop the sediment, mostly fine-grain clay and silt, and place it on scows. Tug boats will then tow the scows about eight miles to the Western Long Island Sound Disposal Site, where the sediment will be dumped.
Source: greenwich time
