Construction Law

What You Need to Know About Dredging Construction Part 1 featured image

What You Need to Know About Dredging Construction Part 1

Construction projects take place everywhere from crowded city streets to rural landscapes to below sea level. In this three-part article, the Jacksonville construction lawyers at Cotney Attorneys & Consultants will discuss dredging construction projects. Remember, regardless of the type of construction project you are working on, your project requires the attention of an experienced Jacksonville construction lawyer.

Benefits of Dredging

Dredging is the action of excavating sediment (usually a combination of sand, mud, and rock) and relocating this material to another location. This material is removed from the bottom of lakes, rivers, harbors, and oceans for a variety of reasons including:

  • Developing Shipping Channels: Dredging is critical to increase or maintain the depth of an ocean bed. This allows ships to navigate through the port’s shipping channels by widening and creating deeper waterways.  
  • Flood Prevention: With many climate change issues like rising seas levels, dredging can also be an effective flood prevention tactic. Great quantities of sand can be relocated from the bottom of the ocean onto the shoreline of the beach.
  • Acquiring Materials for Projects: The natural resources collected during dredging can be utilized as building materials for construction projects. For example, aggregates for concrete are often excavated during dredging.
  • Project Development: Dredging is a popular process utilized for trenching projects like laying pipelines or installing cable by burying them in the seabed.  
  • Removing Hazardous Material: It’s important to remove contaminated substances from the ocean. For example, in many industrial areas, grease, oil, or other harmful substances need to be removed from the environment. Dredging is an extremely accurate process that can stop these polluted materials from spreading throughout the body of water once they are discovered.
  • Land Reclamation: Once materials are excavated from one location, the materials can be used to expand another location. In other words, the dredged materials are built up to form an area of land. This process can develop more coastal areas especially near ports where dredging is frequent.

For more information on dredging in construction, please read sections two and three.

If you would like to speak with a Jacksonville contractor lawyer, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.