SACO/BIDDEFORD – A $3.93 million project to dredge the lower Saco River is set to begin later this month.

The Saco River serves as a natural border between Saco and Biddeford.

This will be the second half of a federal navigation project authorized by Congress to  clear out the federal navigation channel in the Saco River from downtown Saco to the mouth of the river, where the river meets the ocean. Last year, the Army Corps dredged part of the upper section of the navigation channel in a project that was just over $4 million.

H&L Contracting, Inc. LLC, of Bay Shores, New York, has been awarded a $3.93 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge a portion of the federal navigation channel in the Saco River, according to a press release from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The work is scheduled to start mid-month and take about three months to complete, according to the U.S. Army Corps.

“The project consists of hydraulically dredging a portion of the federal navigation channel at the mouth of the Saco River which includes an 8-foot deep entrance channel and three 6-foot deep anchorages,” said Project Manager Craig Martin, of the Corps’ New England District, Programs/Project Management Division in Concord, Massachusetts.

About 41,000 cubic yards of required dredging, with another 36,000 cubic yards of 1-foot allowable over depth dredging would bring these areas back to their authorized dimensions, according to Army Corps officials.

Sand from the mouth of the river will be pumped about 8,000 feet north as beach replenishment on the coast of Camp Ellis in Saco.

There is also a contract option to mechanically dredge a portion of the 8-foot deep channel and 6-foot deep maneuvering basin close to downtown Saco, according to Army Corps officials. This would remove about 35,000 cubic yards of sand which will be deposited in a scour hole mid-river that was used in last year’s dredging project.

According to information from the City of Biddeford website, all recreational and commercial vessels were to be removed from the Saco River to prepare for the dredging and mooring permit owners have been asked to move their moorings near shore during dredge operations.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 780-9015 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.