A multi-year, multi-million dollar dredging project in Petersburg’s South Harbor has wrapped up. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed 57,000 cubic yards of dredged material from the harbor floor to allow boats to safely navigate in and out of their stalls.
The project took almost eight years to get started and cost $7.3 million. The Corps paid for the majority of the dredging, and the Petersburg Borough covered the remaining $3 million. That pot of money came from Petersburg’s Harbor Department reserves, which were saved from about a decade of state taxes on seafood landings.
Petersburg’s Harbor Department set out to get the harbor dredged in order to keep marine traffic unobstructed. Harbormaster Glorianne Wollen said that if the marina got any shallower, boats sailing into the Inner Harbor would be more likely to get damaged.
“Two years ago, we were seeing boats that were hitting hard spots or hitting shallow areas on the entrance,” said Wollen. “So, we [had to do] a lot of scheduling — like telling boats, ‘Hey, you can’t come in! You can’t tie up yet.’ Or: ‘if you’re in the harbor, don’t try to leave until a certain time.'”
Wollen said she felt relieved to see the contractors scoop up the last shovel of debris this month — just in time for crab season.
“We’re really thrilled here, almost eight years later, that we celebrated crab season,” said Wollen. “now, with “There were guys fully loaded on a minus tide, coming in and out of the harbor without hesitation. So, that was a good feeling!”
Wollen said the harbor will need to get dredged again in the next decade or so, because of something called isostatic rebound. Basically, as nearby glaciers retreat, the pressure on the land weakens and it rises up. And that makes Petersburg’s harbors shallower over long periods of time.
However, Wollen said the Borough won’t have to pay for the next dredge. Petersburg’s harbor is now federally recognized, so the Army Corps of Engineers will cover all the costs to keep it dredged in the future.
The Corps will continue to monitor the need for dredging in the catch basin of Petersburg’s Middle Harbor. They’re planning a ribbon-cutting ceremony for May 2024.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the dredge project cost $7.3 million and removed 57,000 cubic yards of material in total.
