Dredging of N.C.'s Oregon Inlet to clear way for boaters

Persistent clogging of the navigational channel in Oregon Inlet will be alleviated starting next month by the first complete dredging of the troublesome area in four years.

A $6.8 million contract for a pipeline dredge to remove 650,000 cubic yards of material from the Bodie Island spit has been awarded to Cranford, N.J.-based Weeks Marine Inc., Penny Schmitt, spokeswoman with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District, said Wednesday.

"The thing is, that spit sticks out and it interferes with the main navigational channel," she said. "Getting this spit dredged - it helps. It doesn't mean it'll stay clear forever. That's a big chunk of sediment."

The contract has not been awarded since 2004 because the bids offered were as much as double the available government funds, Schmitt said. This time, the contractor will be removing about 180,000 cubic yards more material than was removed four years ago.

Michael Davenport, chairman of the Dare County Oregon Inlet and Waterways Commission, said that it will be a relief to recreational boaters and commercial watermen to be able to traverse the channel without having to make a sharp turn to avoid the shoaling east of the bridge.

For the past few years, the corps has used its small sidecaster dredge at the spit area to try to keep up with the shoaling, he said, but it was barely effective. With the efficient pipeline dredge able to remove more sand from the inlet, the channel should be able to be returned to the authorized 14-foot depth and 400-foot width.

"Hopefully, they won't have to work all winter long there for that little cut area," Davenport said.

The project is expected to start Aug. 15 and should be completed by mid-September. At the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the dredge material will be deposited on about three miles of nearshore beach at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

An additional contract has been awarded to dredge the interior channels of Oregon Inlet, Davenport said. But at the same time, he said, he is concerned that only $4.1 million is in the president's proposed budget for maintenance dredging in the inlet next year, substantially less than the $8.4 million that was appropriated for fiscal year 2008.

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com