Hatea River boaties now have a bigger than usual obstacle to watch for on their trips to and from the Town Basin.
Dredging has started on two sections of the Hatea River near the Town Basin, with the dredging barge and tug likely to be in operation somewhere along the section of river between the Town Basin and Kissing Point for the next two months.
“ As they watch for the usual obstacles, we ask that they also keep an eye out for the tug and barge which are big and heavy and need plenty of space to manoeuvre ,” said Rachael Mannion, Whangarei District Council Infrastructure and Services Project Engineer.
The dredging is part of a three-year program aimed at improving the view along the Hatea Loop, and is being carried out by Opua-based Total Dredging Ltd, part of the Total Marine Group.
“ We ask people to be especially careful when the dredging work is occurring close to the shore on the Hatea Loop walkway. ”
This year’s dredging will start near the Town Basin and progress as far as the Art Park. It is expected to cost $250,000, including work at Bell Block on Riverside Drive opposite Kissing Point to make room for disposal of the dredged material.
The dredge loads the material onto a barge which takes it to Kissing Point to be offloaded into a holding container next to the water. It is then loaded onto a truck and transported across the road into Bell Block where it is poured into ponds and allowed to dry out.