WELLFLEET – Wellfleet has officially accepted close to $50 million in state and federal grants that will move the Herring River Restoration project to its construction phase.
The funds are made up of $27,200,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and about $22,670,000 million from the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game.
“This project has been a long time out there, and now we are at the right place and the right time for funding, and it feels pretty good,” said select board member Kathleen Bacon in a statement from the town.
The money will fund a new bridge and sluice gate structure to replace the existing dike at Chequessett Neck Road.
Town officials said that the dike—built in 1909—is the main cause of tidal restriction and overall ecological decline in the area.
The bid process to find a contractor for the bridge project is underway, with a bid opening expected in mid-September.
“The current schedule will allow the town to select a contractor for the bridge and begin to mobilize for construction by the end of the calendar year,” said Richard Waldo, Wellfleet Town Administrator, in the statement.
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