Posted on December 20, 2021
OGDENSBURG — A project, through the state’s Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Regional Dredging Initiative, has begun at the Greenbelt boat launch that will dredge the area around it to allow for easier boating access.
According to the state Office of General Services (OGS), approximately 180 by 58 feet of area in front of the Greenbelt boat launch will be dredged to a maximum depth of eight feet below the low water mark. It is anticipated that 625 cubic yards of river bottom would be removed.
“The Ogdensburg City Channel REDI dredging project, which is expected to wrap up this week if weather and water conditions cooperate, is removing approximately 600 cubic yards of sediment from the Ogdensburg Greenbelt Boat Launch to improve recreational boating access,” stated Joe Brill, public information officer with OGS.
The small boat launch is used regularly during the spring and summer months for anglers and boaters to gain access to the St. Lawrence River. The mouth of the Oswegatchie River is around the bend to the south. During low water, it is often hard to use by those trailering larger boats because of sediment and rocks that have been dumped there from the fast moving currents from the mouth of the Oswegatchie River.
Dredging is being completed by Seaway Marine Group, Clayton, while engineering work is provided by Ramboll Engineering.
Seaway Marine Group is using an excavator and placing the sediment on a barge and then transporting it to an upland placement area, a former fish hatchery owned by the state off of State Highway 37 where it will be used for general fill, according to Brill.
A turbidity curtain has been installed to enclose the dredging area.
Andrea Smith, director of Planning & Development, said that it’s a state project through its New York Dredge program and it will benefit the city and those who use the boat launch.
“I think it’s great for the city, I think it’s a very good project for the city. I do believe it will make the boat launch more usable. We are partners with New York State to enable or support the project,” said Smith.
Brill said that the project is part of the state’s $15 million REDI Regional Dredging Initiative, which includes 20 projects along Lake Ontario’s southern shore and the St. Lawrence River.
“The New York State Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Regional Dredging Project’s objective is to provide a comprehensive approach to the ongoing dredging needs for harbor navigation channels used primarily for recreational boating and refuge in the region,” said Brill, “This project is tackling the maintenance dredging of up to 20 harbor navigation channels through Phases I and II. During Phase III, the State will provide counties with the information they need to update, expand, and implement a Regional Dredging Management Plan for long-term channel operation and maintenance of these recreational navigation channels in the future.”
