The Board of Harbor Commissioners has reached a decision to issue a marine construction permit necessary for dredging Ocean Gateway Pier II at the Port of Portland, reports The Portland Press Herald.
The $280,000 project, approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, will be financed with state funds. The depth of the water on the eastern section of the so called megaberth is expected to increase from 28 to 30 feet to 35 feet below mean sea level.
Dwight Doughty, a division manager for the Maine Department of Transportation, has stated that the undertaking will be immediately initiated adding that Woolwich-based Reed & Reed has been hired to do the job.
The contractor will have to complete the work until April 9 since permits issued by the Corps of Engineers and the DEP say the project cannot cause any harm to two species of fish, sturgeon and winter flounder, that breed in the spring.
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Dredging Today Staff, March 9, 2012