USACE awards $7.994 million contract for construction at Braddock Bay

Photo By Andrew Kornacki | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (USACE), Buffalo District awarded a $7.994 million contract on October 6, 2015 to Wesson Group LLC, Johnstown, N.Y., for the construction of the Braddock Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project located in Greece, N.Y., on the Lake Ontario shoreline.  

GREECE, NY, UNITED STATES

10.07.2015

Story by Andrew Kornacki 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (USACE), Buffalo District awarded a $7.994 million contract on Oct. 6, 2015, to Wesson Group LLC, Johnstown, N.Y., for the construction of the Braddock Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project located in Greece, N.Y., on the Lake Ontario shoreline.

The contract covers the construction of a barrier beach: 1) a 1,675-foot long continuous rubblemound breakwater spine, as a core for the beach, with two 180-foot long rubblemound terminal groins attached; 2) a 3 -acre headland beach; and 3) two 150-foot long headland rubblemound breakwaters.

The project also includes activities aimed at restoring the emergent marsh located within Braddock Bay. Approximately nine acres of channels and potholes will be excavated within the existing cattail dominated emergent marsh to increase habitat complexity and diversity. Approximately three acres of emergent wetland will be reestablished within the bay to replace some of the wetland acreage that has been lost to erosion. Together, with seeding and planting of native species, and invasive plant species treatment, this actions will improve the ecological function of Braddock Bay wetlands as well as their suitability for fish and wildlife species.

“We know that this project will benefit the shoreline of Lake Ontario by improving habitat diversity of the existing emergent marsh currently dominated by cattail, and through reducing erosion of the existing emergent marsh,” said Shelia Hint, USACE Buffalo District project manager. “We could not have gotten to this point if it was not for the hard work and collaboration of the entire partnership.”

"The $9.5 million that the EPA is providing for this project will restore the Braddock Bay barrier beach, protecting and restoring critical wetlands," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "These restored wetlands will improve water quality on Lake Ontario and provide vital habitats for fish and wildlife."

The construction period is estimated to begin in January 2016 for the channeling and potholing, with barrier beach construction beginning in Spring 2016, with completion in the fall of 2016. Final plantings and landscaping will occur in the spring of 2017.

This project is being conducted through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USACE in close partnership with the Town of Greece and the Rochester Embayment Remedial Action Plan Oversight Committee.

For more information regarding the project visit: http://bit.ly/BraddockBay

• Date Taken: 10.07.2015
• Date Posted: 10.07.2015 08:31
• Story ID: 178311
• Location: GREECE, NY, US