BAILEYS HARBOR, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Work is wrapping up at a marina in northern Door County.
Crews are dredging the site in Baileys Harbor, which should help keep boaters safe.
Those workers are putting in overtime to get it done.
On the deck of a 40 by 80 foot steel barge, Curt Rice uses a deliberate approach to maneuver this excavator into place. For the past week, he’s been scooping mud, and muck from the bottom of the harbor entrance from Lake Michigan.
“There were places where it was only three-feet deep, and we’re trying to get it down to five-and-a-half, six-feet deep,” said Mike Kahr, Death’s Door Marine Owner.
Death’s Door Marine is doing the work.
“In this case, we’re inside a hoop arrangement, where it’s containing all the silt and everything. We take the material and put it on the deck of the barge,” said Kahr.
Because of shoreline currents, Town of Baileys Harbor officials say dredging is needed nearly every summer.
“The project can cost anywhere from $35,000 to $75,000 a year. And that’s taxpayer expense,” said Don Sitte, Town of Baileys Harbor Chairman.
Sitte says that’s not all.
“We cannot dredge until after June 15th of any year. That’s because of the spawning of the fisheries that are spawning up until that point of time. So the DNR has regulated us,” he said.
Kahr says protecting the natural resource versus dredging the harbor can be a difficult balancing act.
“We don’t want to kill any fish, but this is a tourist area, and the 4th of July is coming up. Baileys Harbor has a big celebration planned. So we’ve been working seven days a week to get this facility open for the 4th of July,” he said.
Kahr says he expects dredging to finish soon, because his vessel has another assignment.
“I have to get to Fish Creek to shoot the fireworks off my barge on Saturday. So we’re on schedule. Everything should be good,” he said.
When the improvements are complete, Death’s Door Marine expects to haul about 100 truckloads of material away from the bottom of Baileys Harbor Marina.
