SCARBOROUGH – Dave Corbeau, Scarborough’s harbormaster, said this week that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is getting ready to re-start the Scarborough River dredge that was suspended this spring when the original contractor failed to complete the project.

Corbeau said the Army Corps is intending to put the project out to bid sometime in July with the goal of having the dredging re-start by Nov. 1.

“Hopefully we can get somebody that is competent and get this project done,” Corbeau said. He said the current conditions are “really bad” in terms of access to the town pier and the harbor at Pine Point.

He said most of the commercial fishermen going out of Pine Point know they must time their trips to coincide with high tide. And Corbeau said all the area boaters “are working around” the issue.

However, some boats have been grounded for short periods of time while they wait for the tide to re-float them, he said.

The Coast Guard has changed the channel markers to give boaters the best chance of finding enough water to get in and out of the river, Corbeau said, but it’s also marked the Scarborough River as being “dangerous.”

Last week, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a notice that it would support the dredging project, which would lead to the dredged sand being used to rebuild the dunes on Western Beach.

Megan Racey, public affairs specialist at U.S. Fish & Wildlife, said

“We notified the Army Corps today that we concur with them that (piping) plovers are not likely to be adversely affected by the project.”

In fact, she said, “The (beach) re-nourishment project will improve habitat for threatened piping plovers.”