An update on a story we covered last weekend about the prospects of dredging on the channel connecting Washington Island to the rest of Door County because of low lake levels...
The Washington Island Ferry Line will pay for additional engineering studies on the channel. Ferry Line Captain, President, and CEO Dick Purinton says moving forward on the prospect of dredging the channel deeper is dependent on having a few questions answered.
The Ferry Line has contracted with Foth Environmental to provide more specific project details. Purinton estimates the analysis’ cost will approach $13,000.
Certainty as to the amount of dredging, what type of bottom will be encountered, and the possibilities of silting are among the questions Foth’s engineering study will detail.
Purinton says even though the Town of Washington’s application for assistance was denied, the people at the Department of Transportation Harbor Assistance Program are trying to help them find a way to make the project work.
Purinton thinks perhaps the issue wasn’t presented in quite the right way, or maybe the timing wasn’t quite right. He hopes that with the addition of the information from Foth Environmental, all of the elements would be in place. Then, it would be a matter of finding the right combination of funding sources to move the dredging project forward.
