March 4, 2016
By Kathleen Buckler, US Army Corps/Buffalo
“The game-time decision to bring in a pontoon excavator was the right move,” says Restoration Ecologist Josh Unghire. “It will allow us to finish the full scope of channeling and potholing this season, so that the full area of potential habitat is available for fish spawning and wildlife in the spring and summer.”
A pontoon excavator has been mobilized to complete the excavation activities at the Braddock Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project, Greece, NY. The excavator arrived on Monday February 29 after a week in transit from Harvey, LA.
The Wesson Group leased the excavator from Wilco Marsh Buggies & Draglines, Inc. after it was determined that unseasonably warm weather and wet conditions would prevent the continued use of tracked excavators. The lake levels are average for this time of year; however, lack of ground frost and wet weather conditions make working from land nearly impossible.
The pontoon excavator will be completing the remaining potholing activities; this type of work requires less precision than channeling activities, which were completed using tracked excavators. To date, approximately 80% of the potholing activities have been completed.
The pontoon excavator is expected to complete the excavation activities by March 15th. Seeding of exposed soils will begin this week.
The conventional tracked excavators, which just wrapped up the precise work of constructing narrow, sinuous channels were aided by a new GPS technology that provides the bucket operator and construction supervisors with real-time updates and pinpoint accurate readings on bucket depth and location.
Following excavation and seeding activities, construction of the barrier beach will commence. This construction activity, and the progress of the wetland vegetation, will be monitored through the use of a time-lapse field camera with a 30-second interval.
“Completion of this project phase is instrumental to the delisting of Braddock Bay from the Rochester Area of Concern (AOC). I am pleased that, despite unseasonably warm weather, we will be able to complete excavation of the channels and potholes by mid-March,” says Project Manager Sheila Hint.
The Braddock Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project is the result of an interagency partnership between the USACE Buffalo District and the USEPA. Project partners that have been key drivers of this project include the Town of Greece, NYSDEC, and the Rochester Embayment Remedial Action Plan Oversight Committee.
Buffalo District
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