Canal Dredging Article

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From today's Cape Cod times:
Public invited to comment on canal dredging project
CAPE COD TIMES
BOURNE - The Army Corps of Engineers will dredge 300,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock from the depths of the Cape Cod Canal to assure safer transit of commercial ships.

The maintenance work on the 17.5-mile canal will likely take place between June and December.

The mechanical dredging machines that remove the material will not harm any endangered species or critical habitats, Corps officials said.

The public is invited to comment on the project before Jan. 17.

"This work is needed to remove shoals that are now limiting passage and mooring of deep draft commercial vessels," said Bill Kavanaugh, the project manager for the Army Corps.

The material will be removed from several areas of the canal channel and its west mooring basin, and two boulders - one opposite the Cleveland Ledge Light off Nyes Neck in Buzzards Bay, and one west of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

The material will be dumped at the Cape Cod Canal Disposal Site and the Cleveland Ledge Disposal Site, in Buzzards Bay.

In 1990, the Army Corps dredged 122,000 cubic yards of material from the canal as part of regular maintenance. From 1999 to 2000, another 125,000 cubic yards were moved.

Public comment on the project should be submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Programs/Project Management Division, 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA, 01742-2751.