Restoration work in Braddock Bay to start in 2016

Work to restore the ecology of Braddock Bay in Greece is expected to begin in spring of 2016.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Wednesday that it has awarded an $8 million contract for its Braddock Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project to Wesson Group LLC of Johnstown, Fulton County.

According to the agency,Wesson Group will build a barrier beach that includes a 1,675-foot continuous rubblemound breakwater, two 180-foot rubblemound groins, a three-acre headland beach and two 150-foot headland rubblemound breakwaters.

The beach and breakwater are designed to reduce wave energy in the bay and block sediment from entering the water body and becoming trapped within.

Overall, the restoration project also includes excavating nine acres of channels and potholes in the bay's cattail marsh in order to increase habitat complexity and diversity. And, about three acres of emergent wetland will be reestablished in order to replace some wetlands lost to erosion.

"We know that this project will benefit the shoreline of Lake Ontario by improving habitat diversity of the existing emergent marsh currently dominated by cattail, and through reducing erosion of the existing emergent marsh," said Shelia Hint, USACE Buffalo District project manager. "We could not have gotten to this point if it was not for the hard work and collaboration of the entire partnership."

The project's aim is to reduce erosion and improve the diversity of habitats in bay marshes, opening up breeding and living grounds for birds, fish and other native wildlife. The bay is one of the largest coastal wetland ecosystems in the state and is considered an "area of concern" by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, long a proponent of the plan, announced in August that EPA would provide $9.5 million in funding for the work.

"The $9.5 million that the EPA is providing for this project will restore the Braddock Bay barrier beach, protecting and restoring critical wetlands," said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. "These restored wetlands will improve water quality on Lake Ontario and provide vital habitats for fish and wildlife."

Plans also call for seeding and planting native species and treating invasive plant species.

As part of its Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, EPA last week announced $1.2 million in funding for The College at Brockport to study shoreline wetlands along Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

According to the Army Corps, the restoration project is expected to be finished in the fall of 2016, with final plantings and landscaping to occur in early 2017.

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com