WOODBRIDGE — The Neabsco Creek channel is open for business once again following the completion of a $1 million effort to dredge the waterway.
Navigational beacons once again greet boaters at the mouth of the Neabsco Creek, where it meets the Potomac River at Leesylvania State Park.
Last year, the U.S. Coast Guard removed them and replaced the buoys with danger signs warning boaters the water was too shallow to use.
The four marinas located on the creek banded together and petitioned the county for help to dredge the creek to depths of four to six feet. A total of 20 tons of silt was removed from the river and trucked to the nearby Prince William County Landfill.
With the dredging complete, the Coast Guard reopened the waterway. The marinas here are once again selling fuel and sundries, and a new boat rental company, the Potomac Boat Rentals, is expanding its fleet of pontoon boats, adding to an existing collection of paddle boards and kayaks that are available borrow for the day.
“This is really the model of a public-private partnership in Prince Willam County,” said Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi. “We were able to bring people together, to do the job we needed to do, and move on.”
Prince William County funded the majority of the dredging project by injecting $725,325 into the project. A $194,330 grant from the Virginia Port Authority, secured by Prince William County’s state legislators, helped fund the rest.
The dredging began in February and crews worked around the clock to complete the process in time for this year’s boating season.
OWL Volunteer Fire Department docks its fire and rescue boat at Hampton’s Landing on Neabsco Creek. County officials’ wish to keep the boat operational also fueled the desire for the dredging project.
The Neabsco Creek is a 14-mile long tributary of the Potomac River in eastern Prince William County. The headwaters of the creek begin near Hoadly Road in Woodbridge.
