SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said dredging along the Lewes & Rehoboth Canal is expected to begin in October, with work scheduled to continue through March 2027.
The Army Corps previously awarded a $9.6 million contract to Cottrel Contracting Corporation of Chesapeake, Virginia, to dredge the canal from the Route 9 bridge south to the entrance at Rehoboth Bay.
The project calls for removing approximately 89,000 cubic yards of sediment from the canal. A hydraulic dredge and booster pumps will be used to pump the dredged sediment to two placement sites along the northern section of the waterway, said the Army Corps.
In 2024, the Army Corps managed a separate contract to dredge the northern portion of the canal from Roosevelt Inlet to the Route 9 bridge.
The Lewes & Rehoboth Canal includes a shallow-draft federal navigation channel managed by the Army Corps as part of its Inland Waterway from Rehoboth Bay to Delaware Bay project.
The waterway is used by commercial and recreational boaters, research vessels and the Delaware Bay and River Cooperative. The cooperative provides oil spill emergency response and cleanup services for events in the Delaware River and Delaware Bay.
