A proposed temporary roadway would connect Roosevelt Boulevard in Ocean City (34th Street) with Site 83, the mound in the marshes where the city is permitted to deposit material dredged from the bottom of Ocean City's lagoons and bayside channels.
City Council on Thursday (Aug. 13) will consider two measures that could help turn the tide in the struggle to bring deep water back to Ocean City's bayfront.
The first: Council will vote to seek bids from companies that can build a temporary roadway from Roosevelt Boulevard to a nearby site in the marshes where dredged material can be deposited. "Site 83" is filled to capacity, and the city is looking for ways to remove material so it can be used for new dredging projects.
The second: Council will vote on awarding a professional services contract of up to $787,500 for an outside company, ACT Engineering Inc., to continue work on coming up with a master plan (a road map, so to speak) for dredging Ocean City's shallow waters from tip to tip along Ocean City's bayfront.
Much of Ocean City's bayfront is not navigable because the water is so shallow during much of the tide cycle. The city has committed funding to dredging projects to remove material from the floor of the bay and make water deeper. But efforts have been stymied by bureaucratic red tape and lack of a viable place to transport dredged material.
"We believe that currently available sites can be optimized to undertake a modest dredging program in 2015," ACT Engineers writes in its scope and budget proposal. "Therefore, it is recommended that the city proceed with a dredging program for the late summer of 2015 and undertake a significant dredging program in 2016, once CDF capacity can be made available."
See the PDF below for the full text of the ACT Engineers proposal for assessing the work that needs to be done, then doing it. The PDF also includes the council resolution and other documentation.
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