Town Neck dredging/beachfill operations gaining momentum

Team members of the Army Corps’ New England District last weekend visited the dredging operations for the Town Neck Beach Nourishment Project.

During the visit, they were briefed about the progress on the project. The contractor has dredged approximately 80,000 CY of material out of 325,000 CY to rebuild approximately ¾ miles of eroded beach surface.

In partnership with the Town of Sandwich and the Army Corps, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock is working to mitigate shore damage attributed to the east jetties of the Cape Cod Canal with a one-time placement of 320,300 cubic yards of sand on to Town Neck Beach.

The natural drift of sand through the littoral zone in this area of the Cape Cod Bay has been interrupted by the jetties, causing sand to accrete on the north side of the jetties. This sand would otherwise be destined for the Town Neck.

GLDD is hydraulically dredging the sand from a large borrow area off Scussett Beach to a depth of –18 Mean Low Low Water (MLLW), pumping it through a pipeline approximately 9,000 feet long across the bottom of the Cape Cod Canal up onto Town Neck Beach.

Dredging and beachfill operations are expected to be completed by the end of next month.