Dredging on Hernando beach channel resumes

After delays that prompted concerns from the county, the dredging of the Hernando Beach channel is back on track with a vengeance.
Not only did mechanical dredging continue this week, but a second dredger was put into operation, allowing the work to get under way at both ends of the channel.
A new project time schedule has been worked up showing the proposed channel divided into segments with a corresponding timeframe for construction.
Community Relations Coordinator Brenda Frazier said the new schedule breaks down the overall project into smaller segments with time-specific benchmarks.
“I think we are optimistically saying that we are back on track and that we’re still confident we’re going to make the completion date,” Frazier said.
Transportation Services Director Susan Goebel will present the revised timeline and a project status update to county commissioners at their Tuesday meeting.
The county has also called an informational meeting regarding the dredge to be held at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 22 at the Coast Guard Auxiliary Building, 4340 Calienta St. in Hernando Beach.
County staff and representatives of the contractor will provide an update on the project status, the impact to boaters and conduct a question-and-answer period.
New signs and navigational markers went up along the channel this week which should help boaters as they steer through the area. The “idle speed” and “resume speed” signs were relocated to better mark the construction sites.
Boaters are still reminded to exercise extreme caution within the construction area and comply with the “no wake zone” within 300 feet of the dredge equipment.
The mechanical dredging operations consist of large barges inside the channel in two areas. In order to comply with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit, turbidity curtains are needed to surround the dredging area.
That arrangement may take up the entire width of the channel, possibly limiting passage of certain vessels during low tides.
Boaters will see the barge and the yellow turbidity curtain “fence” when approaching the two construction areas. Boaters are to use the markers to navigate at “No Wake” speed through the construction areas.
Boaters requiring emergency passage are to radio channel 68 and use call sign “Konga West Dredge” while in route to give the contractor time to clear the yellow curtain and barges in order to safely open the channel.
Boaters are asked to be patient during construction since normal passage may be delayed up to an hour.
There are up to five barges in the water at any given time. Two barges are operational and contain the mechanical excavators. Two barges are strictly for moving material from the channel to land.
The fifth barge is primarily for handling the turbidity curtains. Within the next two weeks, a sixth barge is expected to be incorporated into the dredge operations.
The pipe from the hydraulic dredging operation has been removed from the channel, and the pipe which remains in Tarpon Canal is expected to be removed next week.
The channel dredging project had slipped behind schedule last month and prompted the county to fire off a letter to the contractor, BCPeabody Construction Services Inc.
BCPeabody had suffered machinery breakdowns and decided to switch to a new method of rock removal, primarily mechanical dredging.
Robert Carpenter, the company’s CEO and owner, said ground that had been lost was made up and is confident the Dec. 31 completion deadline will be met without any increase in costs.
“I made a promise that I would get this job done without any change orders and I’m doing everything I can to keep my word,” he told Hernando Today recently.
Commissioners voted last March to pay BCPeabody $8.45 million to dredge the channel.
The county has until Dec. 31, 2011 to finish the project or lose up to $6 million in state funding.

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