GLDD to Begin Boston Harbor Federal Navigation Project

The Boston Harbor Federal Navigation Project will undergo maintenance dredging under the terms of a $6.4 million contract issued recently by the Army Corps’ New England District in Concord, Massachusetts.

Image source: USACE

The contract that was awarded on July 11, 2019 will be accomplished by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, Inc., of Oak Brook, Illinois.

According to USACE Project Manager Jenifer Thalhauser, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company is scheduled to begin dredging in mid-September.

The project consists of maintenance dredging of approximately 400,000 cubic yards of silt, sand and clay within the following areas of the Boston Harbor federal navigation channel: 35-foot Broad Sound North Channel; 30-foot Broad Sound South Channel; 15-foot Nubble Channel; 35-foot anchorage; and the 35-foot Main Ship Channel.

The Broad Sound North Channel, Broad Sound South Channel, and the Nubble Channel will be dredged, with placement of all material at the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site (MBDS) approximately 15 miles offshore of Boston Harbor, reported the Corps.

USACE also added that the Main Ship Channel and 35-foot anchorage will be dredged with placement of material in the Main Ship Channel confined aquatic disposal (CAD) cell.

As reported, all dredging will be accomplished by mechanical means and dredging of silt material going to the MSC CAD cell will require the use of an environmental bucket.