Dredge Captain Ted Augustine stands next to Towne, who is holding another fish at right. That pulling together allowed the dredging of the river to occur, he said. Dredged material is deposited on Tinker s Ridge as the barge moves steadily up river. A bid on Ellsworth s portion of the dredge has not yet been accepted. It is too late for the city to dredge the inner harbor this year.
Officials hope to begin the dredging next fall.
All that remains is the inner channel closest to Ellsworth harbor. Habel said he had his fingers crossed about whether the Corps portion would be done by April 15. State agencies forbid the dredging to continue after that date because of salmon spawning. He said if the Corps does not finish this spring it will come back in the fall to complete the project. He also said the dredging will double the number of boats coming into the city.