The long-awaited Westport Marina dredging project began this week, the first time the bustling seafood port has been dredged in nearly 40 years.

The project began Wednesday and will include two phases, carried out by two contractors working in coordination to limit the impact on users and improve efficiency. The project is expected to becompleted by Jan. 31, 2020.

“We are excited to get this critical project underway and are confident our contractors have put together a well-coordinated plan to keep the project on track and minimize impacts to our diverse user groups,” said Westport Marina Business Manager Molly Bold. “Communication and cooperation with our users will be critical over the next several months. Once complete, we are confident this project will benefit them for many years to come.”

Bergeson Construction is handling Phase 1 of the project, and in-water work is underway near floats 15 and 17. The work will include dredge material being disposed of in an upland site via pipeline. The pipeline will be primarily underground and underwater to allow for boat and vehicle traffic to move as undisturbed as possible during the dredging.

Material will be dredged and fed through a pipe to the upland disposal site, located near the public boat launch, southeast of Yearout Drive. After project completion, when the dredged material has dried, the upland disposal site will be leveled and replanted with native vegetation.

Phase 2 will begin shortly after Phase 1 and be carried out by Pacific Pile and Marine. Phase 2 dredging will include in-water disposal via pipeline to the permitted Point Chehalis disposal site.

The overall cost of the project is $4.65 million, according to the Port of Grays Harbor. The cost will be covered by $2.5 million in State Capital Budget funds, $300,000 in county funds and just shy of $2 million in Port of Grays Harbor Capital Budget funds.

For the most up-to-date information regarding marina dredging please visit portofgraysharbor.com or call 360-533-9562.