Dredging, Beach Replenishment Approved for Mattituck

Mattiuck Inlet will be dredged and adjacent beaches will be replenished with sand under a project recently approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Congressman Tim Bishop said Wednesday.

“I am pleased to announce that this long awaited project is now moving forward,” Bishop said. “I want to thank the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Town of Southold for their hard work and cooperation to make this project a reality.”

The project will address beach erosion east of the inlet while also removing sand build up west of the inlet’s jetties, according to Bishop’s office. Roughly 100,000 cubic yards of sand will be placed east of the inlet. At a cost of $2.2 million, the project is 100 percent federally funded. Mobilization for the project should begin by January 15 with work starting about January 21. The completion date is February 28.

“With strong community support, we accomplished this project,” Doris and Ronald McGreevy, of Mattituck, said in a joint statement. “Our beaches will be replenished with sand that will again naturally flow eastward along the shore. Keeping nature and man-made structures in harmony is important to our community.”

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell added, “I am pleased that the long overdue dredging of Mattituck Inlet is finally taking place.”