Dredging completed at New Jersey’s Fortescue Creek Channel

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has confirmed the completion of dredging in Fortescue Creek Channel in Cumberland County.

The US$2.3 million project was executed to restore safe navigation to the Fortescue Creek Channel. The material removed from the channel was used beneficially to restore a section of shoreline that will serve as essential habitat for endangered species.

NJDOT’s contractor, Wickberg Marine Contracting, removed more than 35,000 cubic yards (26,759 cubic metres) of sediment from the channel, restoring access to recreational and commercial marine boat traffic from Fortescue Creek to Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The New Jersey State Police, United States Coast Guard, commercial fishermen and recreational boaters that utilise the channel will now be able to enjoy at least five feet (1.5 metres) of water at mean low water (MLW).

The NJDOT said the channel is now considered to be in a state of good repair.

The NJDOT Office of Maritime Resources utilised the material removed from the channel to restore an eroded section of shoreline. The newly restored shoreline can now serve as critical habitat for federally listed threatened red knot and horseshoe crabs.

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