LAPUSH — A three-month dredging project at the mouth of the Quillayute River is expected to be finished this weekend, the Army Corps of Engineers said this week.
Dredging removes sediment that can cause navigational hazards when the water becomes too shallow.
The Quillayute River Marina is the only emergency harbor between Neah Bay and Grays Harbor and helps the economy of the Quileute tribe.
The U.S. Coast Guard also has a search and rescue station at LaPush.
Nehalem River Dredging of Nehalem, Ore., has moved nearly 80,000 cubic yards of sediment with a hydraulic pipe from the river channel to Rialto Beach and the shores of James Island.
The material is being used to replenish the beaches and uplands.
Nehalem Dredging’s $1 million contract began in mid-October.
On Jan. 4, Coast Guard Station Quillayute River stabilized a Nehalem River Dredging worker who injured his leg on a dredge moored at the marina.
The Quillayute River was last dredged last in October 2007.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also dredging at Seattle and Everett.
Two recently completed dredging projects in Grays Harbor totaled $7.8 million and extracted 1,170,000 cubic yards.
Port Townsend’s Boat Haven marina was dredged last October for the first time in 11 years.
The Army Corps of Engineers and American Construction used a crane barge to remove about 2,500 cubic yards of material.