The federal dredge Currituck will arrive at the Shore next month and at the Barnegat Bay by the Fourth of July, Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., said Tuesday.

Note: Ellicott designed the Currituck and supplied all of its dredging and pumping machinery.

Saxton, whose district in Ocean County includes Barnegat Bay and considerable recreational and commercial fishing operations, pushed for Congress to appropriate funding for the $10 million Currituck in the early 1990s. The 150-foot dredge, with its shallow draft and split hull design, can move 300 to 500 tons of sand at a time.

Saxton said the Army Corps of Engineers, which is using the Currituck to the north at New England sites, plans to dredge a 1,500-foot stretch of the Barnegat Inlet. The project is expected to last about 20 days.

"The inlet is busy, and some reports of shoaling mean that we have to act to ensure safe navigation throughout the summer for both our commercial and recreational fishing captains, as well as private boaters," Saxton said.

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/28/06