Posted on January 14, 2019
A nearly $4 million project to dredge the lower Saco River is set to begin later this month.
The Saco River originates in New Hampshire and serves as a natural border between the cities of Saco and Biddeford, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
The upcoming dredging will take place near the city centers of Saco and Biddeford, and at the mouth of Saco River, according to U.S. Army Corps Spokesman Tim Dugan in an email last week.
The work will be conducted by H&L Contracting, Inc. LLC, of Bay Shores, according to a press release from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The dredging is the second half of a federal navigation project authorized by Congress to clear out the federal navigation channel in the Saco River that runs from downtown Saco to the mouth of the river, where it meets the ocean.
The first half of the project, a dredging project in the upper section of the navigation project that cost just over $4 million, was completed last year.
The second half of the project had been previously announced to begin in December. Saco City Administrator Kevin Sutherland said at Monday night’s City Council meeting that he had received calls from a few residents wondering if the project was still moving forward, as they had not seen any work taking place.
“Yes, the dredging of the Saco River is still happening this winter,” said Sutherland. On Monday, he said, contractors were currently mobilizing their equipment from other locations on the east coast to Maine and the dredging will begin later this month.
Dugan said in last week’s email that the project was expected to begin later this month and will be completed before March 31.
Sand from the mouth of the Saco River will be pumped about 8,000 feet north and used as beach replenishment on the coast of Saco, an area vulnerable to beach erosion.
Source: Journal Tribune
