PLUM ISLAND — Hurricane Earl will apparently have little effect on a project to dredge the Merrimack River channel and rebuild beaches here and in Salisbury.
The contract manager for the company that will do the work said a raft carrying pipes for the project is being held at Staten Island, N.Y., until the hurricane passes by New England.
Chris Pomfret of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. of Oak Brook, Ill., said the pipeline raft will start for the Merrimack River after the weather breaks.
Pomfret said a few days' delay won't have a significant impact on the start of the project.
The main vessel for the project, the 320-foot cutter suction dredge Illinois, is currently berthed in Norfolk, Va., and will begin its northward voyage after the pipe arrives.
Pomfret said there are two pieces of land-based equipment on site now, in a parking lot at Plum Island Center.
Great Lakes is operating under a $5.5 million contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The company will dredge the channel, hauling up an estimated 160,000 cubic yards of sand, and will spread it directly onto eroded areas of Salisbury Beach and Plum Island.
Salisbury will receive the first 40,000 yards of sand, Plum Island the remaining 120,000.
The Plum Island deposit area is about 2,500 linear feet from Plum Island Center northward. The stone groin at the Center that has been exposed by accelerated erosion will not be reburied as part of the operation, according to Army Corps officials.
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
