As the saying goes, better late than never.
On Thursday, United States Senator for New York Charles Schumer said the Army Corps of Engineers approved the dredging of sediment in the Oswego Harbor. The project, scheduled to start on June 1st, has been long overdue as the last dredging took place in 2008.According to Army Corps Officials, the harbor is supposed to be dredged every 3-4 years.
Approximately 72,000 cubic yards of sediment will need to be dredged. This process is used to counter the affects of sedimentation in channels of water, which in time can fill and render important waterways useless. The harbor will be returned to an optimal depth after the removal of the deposited sediments, for shipping and leisure purposes.
Senator Schumer, says the dredging will give a boost to the local economy, commercial barges, family boaters and fishing charters in the harbor. The Port of Oswego says it puts more than $1 billion into the local economy each year. Other improvements that have already been made to improve rail access to the port are expected to increase capacity by 50 percent.
The Port of Oswego is the only deep water port on the U.S. shores of Lake Ontario, receiving large shipments of soy, corn, wheat and aluminum.