CRMC, ACOE to announce start of Point Judith dredge project

November 27, 2006, NARRAGANSETT—The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) will announce the start of maintenance dredging on the Point Judith Pond and Navigational Channel in Galilee with a ceremony on Thursday, November 30 at 11 a.m. at the Salty Brine State Beach parking lot in Galilee.

The proposed work includes maintenance dredging of the 15-foot-deep entrance channel into the harbor, as well as the eastern and western branch channels and the channel leading into Point Judith Pond. The channel has not been dredged since its construction in 1977.

Natural shoaling has reduced the channels’ depth over the years, making navigation hazardous during low tides. Approximately 90,000 cubic yards of sand will be removed from about 25 acres of the area, and will restore the entrance channel and other channels to original depths and dimensions, according to the ACOE.

The dredged material will be used to help replenish a near-shore sandbar off Matunuck Beach in South Kingstown. The dredging is scheduled to begin in December 2006 and must be completed by March 2007 at the close of the dredging window.

“The CRMC is pleased to serve as the state dredging sponsor for this project,” said CRMC Chairman Michael M. Tikoian. “Dredging will restore much-needed depth and navigability to the channels and into the pond, and will also help restore a natural sandbar in Matunuck. We applaud all those who helped see this project to fruition.”

Senator Jack Reed commented, “I am pleased we secured the funding needed to move this project forward. Point Judith is the sixth largest fishing port on the East Coast and a big part of Rhode Island’s economy. A safer channel is good news for fishermen and the many recreational boaters and fishermen who use the port. It’s really a double win because the Army Corps of Engineers will use the dredged material to create offshore sandbars that will protect and replenish the eroded Matunuck shoreline.”