Dredging work on Holland Harbor to start this weekend
HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — Dredging work along the outer harbor in Holland will begin this weekend.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District says The King Company won a $901,000 government contract to dredge both the Holland and Grand Haven harbors this spring. Work on both harbors is expected to be finished by the end of May.
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In Holland, crews will remove approximately 31,000 cubic yards of sediment out of the harbor and place it in a deeper section of the lake approximately 1,200 feet south of the harbor’s southern breakwater.
“The public is urged to avoid areas actively being dredged and follow all posted warning signs. Lights and sirens will mark the discharge pontoon in the nearshore area,” the USACE said in a statement.
Holland Harbor is maintained by the USACE under the authority of the Rivers and Harbors Act. The harbor must maintain a depth of at least 23 feet at the harbor entrance and at least 21 feet throughout the inner channel.
Dredging starts on Muskegon Channel
“Maintaining commercial traffic to Holland is an important part of our maintenance dredging in West Michigan,” Liz Newell Wilkinson, operations manager at the USACE Grand Haven Office, said in a statement. “Keeping the shipping channel open provides a receiving port for the city and a safe harbor of refuge for vessels seeking shelter on Lake Michigan.”
The Grand Haven Harbor was also dredged last year, pulling 141,000 cubic yards of sediment from the outer harbor. Dredging was temporarily paused in July after high concentrations of E. coli at North Park Beach in Ferrysburg prompted a “no body contact” warning.
The USACE announced last month that The King Company has also started dredging work on the Muskegon Channel. Crews will remove approximately 133,000 cubic yards of sediment from the channel. The project is expected to wrap up by the end of June.
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