Local officials will welcome the 2095-ton derrick barge Paula Lee to Marina del Rey on Thursday, as a $13 million project gets underway to improve navigational safety for first responders and recreational vessels by dredging up to a million cubic yards of material from the entrance channel to the Marina del Rey Harbor.
The partnership between federal and local government agencies will involve barging material to Long Beach for the Port’s Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project, as well as the deposit of clean sediment at Dockweiler and Redondo Beaches to address beach erosion issues. The project, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the summer months.
When: Thursday, April 5, 2012; 11:00 a.m.
Where: Marina del Rey entrance channel view pier; Via Marina at Pacific Avenue
Who: Don Knabe, Los Angeles County Supervisor
Lt. Col. Steven Sigloch, Deputy Commander and Deputy District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District
Dr. Robert Kanter, Managing Director, Environmental Planning, Port of Long Beach
Following the news conference, the Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol will offer boat rides to the harbor entrance area so that media may get a better view of the Paula Lee.
Background
A severe build-up of sediment in the entrance to Marina del Rey has become a huge safety risk for all users, especially first responders in the area, including the United States Coast Guard, Los Angeles County Lifeguard Baywatch and the Marina del Rey Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol.
Through this project, the Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles County’s Department of Beaches and Harbors and the Port of Long Beach are collaborating to save upwards of $85 million and eliminate the 42,000 truck trips through densely populated communities that would have been required to dispose of the sediment at inland landfill sites.
Long Beach Port’s Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project will combine two aging shipping terminals into one modern terminal to improve cargo-movement efficiency and environmental performance. The project will upgrade wharfs, water access and storage areas, as well as expand an on-dock rail, all while cutting air pollution and adding approximately 14,000 jobs in Southern California.