CHATHAM – The Muddy Creek Bridge Project reached a milestone earlier this month as the east side of the new channel was opened.
It was the first time for normal tidal flow between the creek and Pleasant Bay in 100 years.
Steel pilings used to construct the channel were flipped to the west side so that the second channel could be constructed.
The channels are part of a larger project between Harwich and Chatham to restore the health of the creek with the construction of a new bridge.
“There’s going to be a huge transition ecologically there because your changing a brackish and a freshwater ecosystem into a purely saltwater ecosystem, so there’s going to be a lot of transition, especially early stage die off of plants along the shore,” said Chatham Selectman Seth Taylor.
Chatham Director of Natural Resources Robert Duncanson said permits require that changes be monitored over a three to five year period.
“We have about 15 permits for this project,” said Duncanson. “There are requirements that we do fairly extensive monitoring and most of that is for a minimum of three to five years, so there will be quite a bit of monitoring going on up there.”
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter
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