Congressman Tim Bishop, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell and Colonel Paul E. Owen, New York District Commander of the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, visited the site of the on-going dredging project at Mattituck Inlet.
The project, which began last month, will address the erosion of the beach to the east of the inlet and the excess build-up of sand to the west of the inlet.
The entrance to Mattituck Inlet will be dredged to a depth of 11 feet plus 2 feet of overdepth. The sand dredged from the inlet, along with the sand removed from the west side, will be used to replenish the beach on the east side.
“ I am pleased to see that the project is progressing as expected ,” said Congressman Bishop. “ It is much-needed replenishment to an area that has seen significant erosion and that residents have been seeking for quite some time. I would like to thank the Army Corps of Engineers, particularly Colonel Owen and his staff, for their continued efforts to ensure this project remains on track .”
“ The Corps of Engineers is proud to carry out this work in partnership with the Town of Southold ,” said New York District Commander Col. Paul E. Owen . “ This work is not only improving the navigability of Mattituck Inlet by removing material from the mouth of the inlet, but we are also able to beneficially reuse that fill to reduce risks to the nearby community as well as reduce the potential for risks to the stability of the inlet itself. ”
“ The Town of Southold is very pleased to collaborate with Congressman Bishop, the many dedicated agencies and the community at large to make the dredging of Mattituck Inlet a successful contribution to improve our water quality ,” said Supervisor Russell .
“ With strong community support, we accomplished this project ,” said Mattituck residents Doris and Ronald McGreevy . “ Our beaches will be replenished with sand that will again naturally flow eastward along the shore. Keeping nature and man-made structures in harmony is important to our community .”
The project, which is 100 percent federally funded at a cost of $2.2 million, is being managed by the Army Corps of Engineers and implemented by Village Dock, a company based out of Port Jefferson, New York.
“ I am happy that Village Dock is not only a Long Island company, but also based in New York’s First Congressional District ,” said Congressman Bishop. “ Projects like this help ensure Long Island businesses can stay open, save jobs, and keep our economy growing .”
Work at the Mattituck Inlet is expected to be completed by February 28, 2014. In total, roughly 100,000 cubic yards of sand will be placed east of the inlet.
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Press Release, February 10, 2014