By Ian Thompson | Daily Republic | December 29, 2008
The dredger Nehalem works on the final parts of the Suisun Slough Monday afternoon in Suisun City. The dredging is almost complete and is expected to be done by Thursday. Photo by Brad Zweerink
SUISUN CITY - Waterfront residents will have a quieter New Year's Eve after weeks of listening to two dredgers work nearly around the clock in the marina and Whispering Bay.
Roy D. Garren Construction of Roseburg, Ore., is approaching the finish line, with only some daytime work to do this week.
'They are 98 percent finished and there is only a little bit more to do,' said Mick Jessop, director of the city's Recreation and Community Services Department. 'There are a couple more shoals to be done.'
Jessop said he is very pleased with the quality of the work, which has involved clearing thousands of cubic yards of silt from the waterways to deepen the channels and alleviate boaters' concerns.
'This means we have good free passage for the entire marina and Whispering Bay,' Jessop said. 'We won't have to do this again for another six years.'
Results of a post-dredging survey are due in a couple of days. Jessop estimated that about 118,000 cubic yards have been cleared thus far from the waterways and deposited on city-owned Pierce Island.
The two dredgers arrived in late November and went right to work, clearing silt that had accumulated in the waterways for six years.
Jessop said he expects all the work to be completed by Thursday, making the depth of the marina 'right where we need it to be.'
The city requested a one-month extension of the dredging deadline after the Army Corps of Engineers required that a process be in place for Pierce Island to be turned back into wetlands should the city ever stop using it.
The previous deadline had been Nov. 30 so that breeding fish and other wildlife that depend on the slough would not be adversely affected b the dredging.
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