Army Corps gets millions for Lake Erie harbor projects

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has slated some additional high-dollar projects along the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario shorelines, including five for Ohio’s share of the former’s lakefront.

These 13 projects fall within the Corps’ Buffalo District and span three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

All of the items are additions to the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2017 budget with the added items totaling $24.83 million. The money was earmarked in the just-passed federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017, said Corps Buffalo District spokesman Andrew A. Kornacki.

The most expensive project on the 13-item list is the $4.9 million slated for work at New York’sOsweago Harbor on Lake Ontario. Work on Pennsylvania’s popular Presque Isle will involve beach enrichment and will cost $1.5 million.

 Ohio’s five slated projects total $12,460,000 – more than for either of the other two states. Broken down, said Kornacki, the projects are:

·         $1.8 million for dredging the Cleveland Harbor.

·         $3 million for the construction and east breakwater end section repair of Conneaut Harbor (the second most costly Corps Buffalo District project).

·         $2.9 million for repair of Lorain Harbor’s outer breakwater.

·         $740,000 for dredging of the Toussaint River Harbor.

        *     $1,020,000 for dredging of the West Harbor near Port Clinton.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischk@Ameritech.net