Dredging Project

04/24/09: Dredging of the canal subdivisions are completed. The canals are open and available for use.

04/15/09: Work on the dredging project is complete. We are currently awaiting the results of the as-built surveys. Please do not move your vessels back until word is issued from the Town.

04/03/09: Holden Beach Harbor canal property owners are cleared to return their boats to their docks. The survey results are not in for Heritage Harbor and Harbor Acres at this point, so those areas are not cleared at this time. The ramp on Greensboro Street should be removed by close of business today.  

03/20/09: Holden Beach Harbor canal dredging operations have been substantially completed. The Bristol Scott has redeployed from Holden Beach Harbor to Heritage Harbor and has completed the entranceway cut across the feeder canal. It is approximately two dredge boat lengths inside the middle canal heading south as of 1:00 p.m. Holden Beach Harbor canal boat owners should still refrain from returning their boats to their berths until advised by the Town. The dredging operations in Heritage Harbor will continue for approximately the next two to three weeks.

03/14/09 - Saturday, March 14th at 8AM Quality Assurance Report: Both dredges are discharging to the Greensboro Street Spoil Site. Rising tide with clear water being released. The Bristol Scott is located near 143/145 High Point working eastwardly in the feeder canal just before the turn down Canal A. The Bristol Scott discharge is black, soupy mud. The contractor anticipates dredging will proceed down Canal A (southwardly) over the course of the next three to five days. The Jenny Knox is located at the end of Scotch Bonnet working southwardly on the second leg of the entrance canal cut. The Jenny Knox discharge is sandy. The anticipated working time to the Heritage Harbor east west feeder canal is three to five days. The Bristol Scott will join the Jenny Knox in the Heritage Harbor feeder canal after it wraps up Holden Beach Harbor Canal A and sweeps its way back out to the AIWW on/ around March 20th. Both dredges will then be operating in Heritage Harbor. All vessels should now be clear of the Heritage Harbor finger canals and should stay clear until advised by the Town (approximately 10 days). Operating hours will continue in the daytime, but may begin to be conducted at night in order to expedite project completion.

2/16/09: As of quitting time on Saturday, the Bristol Scott was just short of being halfway down Canal E in Holden Beach Harbor (approximately 121 Sanford/ 122 Salisbury). Quality Assurance Evaluator says no delays, maintenance or otherwise, with lost time being made up daily. Conversation between Rowboat Dock and Dredge's owner and Town Manager Hewett conveyed confidence in the total project (Holden Beach Harbor, Heritage Harbor and Harbor Acres) being completed mid-March ahead of schedule. The Jenny Knox is almost finished with its dredging operations in the entranceway canal to Harbor Acres. The engineer indicates approximately two more days maximum to finish there.

1/21/09: The Bristol Scott (dredge boat) is nearing completion of Canal G. At this time, we will have a survey prepared of the three canals that have been completed to date. Our engineering firm reports that everything is progressing well and is on schedule. We are currently coordinating boat movement with the upcoming canals.  

Dredging Update

The Town's engineering consultant for the canal dredging project; Right Angle Engineering, conducted a pre-construction meeting with the project contractor, Rowboat Dock and Dredge, on December 15th at the end of High Point Street. Representing the Town were Mayor J. Alan Holden, Commissioner Don Glander and Town Manager David W. Hewett. Additional attendees included representatives from all canal subdivisions, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management. Shane Lippard, P.E. from Right Angle Engineering summarized the current situation by stating that all permits are in hand, all contracts have been executed and the required bond has been posted. Rowboat Dock and Dredge representatives indicated that they will be deploying and assembling pipe along the length of High Point Street beginning Wednesday, December 17th. Dredging operations are projected to begin within a week to 10 days; however, no dredging is expected to take place on Christmas or Christmas Eve.

Dredging operations will be conducted during daylight hours of 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. to begin with. These start/ end times are adjustable and operations may be extended if necessary to around the clock. At this time it is unknown if operations will be conducted seven days per week.

The Town will endeavor to get all advised of the project's process. The dredge boat captain communicated to us that during operations he will be concentrating on running his equipment and would not be able to engage in side bar conversation with property owners. If a property owner has an issue requiring attention they should contact the Town Manager at (910) 842-6488.

Residents on Greensboro Street can expect to encounter a dredge pipe across Greensboro Street near the corner at lot 388. An earthen ramp with sufficient slope to preclude undercarriage damage to vehicles will be constructed so the residents may access their property with as little inconvenience as possible. Although a final projected schedule has not been provided to the Town; Rowboat indicated that they will be begin in Canal I (Greensboro Street) and proceed east sequentially back to Canal A (High Point Street).

Once the dredging is finished in Holden Beach Harbor, the dredge will relocate to the Heritage Harbor Subdivision. Again dates are to be determined and will be provided/ coordinated with the canal subdivisions in order to facilitate boat movement. It is projected that sometime in February a second dredge will be brought in to begin dredging the entrance to the Harbor Acres canal system.

A few words about boat movement: Boats will need to be moved in order to facilitate dredging operations. The Town will coordinate the dredging operations schedule/ progress with property owners in order to provide as much lead time as possible for vessel relocation without undue trouble/ inconvenience or excessive expense.

Rowboat discussed/ described how navigation channels may be minimally affected from time to time on an intermittent basis during the course of the dredging operation. They gave the impression that the majority of the time the discharge pipe will be submerged and run parallel to the canals; therefore, minimizing any navigational interruptions. Rowboat advised that any interruptions to navigation would be measured in minutes and would result from normal advancement of the submerged line as the dredge walks/ digs its way forward. At no time will the channels be blocked completely to the extent that boats cannot maneuver around the dredge and/ or pipes.

Concerning Quality Control: Howard Varnam; Quality Assurance Evaluator from Right Angle Engineering will initially be on site daily to ensure the project is going smoothly all in accordance with the contract. Surveys will be performed on an as quickly as practical/ cost effective basis as canals are dredged. In addition, the Town will film all bulkheads, docks, lifts, etc. prior to the commencement of dredging operations.

At the Board's workshop on May 16th, all three canal subdivisions expressed a desire to proceed with the dredging of their canal systems in the upcoming winter dredging season. The Town's consulting engineering firm, Right Angle Engineering, was introduced. Representing Right Angle Engineering were Jim Vithalani - Senior Engineer (former Deputy Engineer of the Wilmington District Army Corps), Shane Lippard - Project Engineer and Howard Varnum - Project Manager (former Chief of Navigation Division of the Wilmington District Army Corps). 

The Board held another workshop on June 23rd subsequent to the public hearing on the annual budget the night before. A review of the mechanism required to effect dredging projects this upcoming winter was presented by the Town Manager. The process implemented by the adoption of resolutions and the annual budget includes 1) the establishment of separate dredging assessment districts for each canal subdivision, 2) creation of separate budgets for each dredging district and 3) the setting of the assessment rate for each district. The assessments are $800 for Holden Beach Harbor, $500 for Heritage Harbor and $200 for Harbor Acres. Assessment fees will be based on a per lot basis according to the original platted maps creating the subdivisions and will be assessed/ collected with the normal ad valorem tax billing made in September and due in January. Staff was tasked with assembling a list of required actions and a corresponding timeline required to meet the winter dredging target window. The next meeting has yet to be determined.