The $5.2 million Detroit Harbor channel dredging project on Washington Island is set to get underway in mid-September. According to information supplied by the Washington Island Ferry Line, Roen Salvage of Sturgeon Bay has been awarded the contract & is expected to mobilize its equipment in the near future. Dredging of the channel will commence when preparations for digging & the disposal of dredge spoils have been readied. The project is expected to continue through the rest of this year until freeze-up, with completion expected in 2014. It will be the largest dredging operation in Detroit Harbor since 1937, the year when the channel was originally dug. The dredging is designed to counter low Lake Michigan water levels that have been the norm in recent years. It will ensure that critical water transportation needs will be met for the island community & for all those who depend upon regular transport of people, vehicles & freight to & from the mainland. The special funding for the island dredging project was approved in June.
