Boston Harbor dredging project expected to receive $68M from feds
Massport’s Boston Harbor dredging project — deepening the harbor and allowing larger tankers and cruise ships to enter the South Boston main ship channel — is expected to receive a major funding boost from the feds.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works fiscal year 2021 budget proposes $68.4 million to continue funding the $350 million Boston Harbor project, which Massport expects will be completed this fall.
“The deepening of Boston Harbor’s Main Shipping, Outer and Inner Harbors, and Reserved Channels is essential for Boston to be able to serve larger ships and remain competitive with other ports along the East Coast,” a Massport spokeswoman said in a statement.
The dredging project will deepen Boston Harbor down to 60 feet, allowing larger tankers and cruise ships to enter Massport’s Conley Terminal in South Boston.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers greenlighted the project a few years ago, and the project is on schedule, according to Massport.
“The maintenance dredging of the Inner Harbor ship channel is complete and ensures vessels carrying home heating oil, salt, Logan Airport’s jet fuel, and cars to the Autoport can continue to get to terminals on the Chelsea and Mystic Rivers,” the Massport spokeswoman said.
As of January, the contractor had dredged 8.35 million cubic yards of sand, clay, till and rock out of an estimated total 11.7 million cubic yards of material needed to be dredged, said a Corps of Engineers spokesman.
“Dredged material from the improvement project is being beneficially reused for the restoration of the former Industrial Waste Site (IWS) located in Massachusetts Bay,” the spokesman added. “The District’s Disposal Area Monitoring System (DAMOS) Program and USEPA Region 1 developed a strategy to restore an area of the IWS with exposed waste containers and debris by sequentially placing dredged material from the Boston Harbor improvement project.”
The Boston Harbor Dredging Project is a $350 million partnership between the Corps of Engineers, Massport and the state.
The federal government will spend about $220 million, Massport about $55 million, and the state about $75 million.
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