BLADENBORO — Significant progress is being made on the Bryant Swamp canal cleanup project, and the large part of the first portion is nearing completion.
“D.G. Jackson Construction is working on this contract and they are out of Council,” said Blake Proctor, the town administrator. “The original contract, which was for the swamp, had Wateree Creek added in.”
With the Bryant Swamp cleanup and the creek added in, it brought the total for the project to $108,000.
“It’s going on schedule, and as planned,” said Donald Jackson, owner of D.G. Jackson Construction, at an interview on the job site by the creek bridge. “No hang ups so far. Everyone has been great to work with.”
Jackson said for his team the recent drought has been a blessing. Their contract was signed May 17. The project is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 31.
“The weather has been with us,” Jackson said. “We have done most of it during the extreme drought. That has made it better for us.”
The dry weather gave them the opportunity to get in with equipment and have less chance of getting stuck in the sticky, black bud along the creek banks.
“The swamp has had a lot of sediment in it from the last two hurricanes, and we are getting it out,” said Jackson.
The project also includes five tributaries into the main canal.
“We started at Big Swamp and came upstream through town and we are going all the way down to highway 211,” Jackson said. “It has had a lot of trees blown down in it, and a lot of obstructions. It really needed it, and we are giving it a good cleaning.”
The project is scheduled for completion by Oct. 31, and company owner Donald Jackson said so far there have been no delays.
So far the project has been moving along steadily, with both sides of creeks being cleaned.
David Dove was working with D.G. Jackson Construction to clear out the canals in the downtown area of Bladenboro on Wednesday.
Some areas of the banks are becoming very clean and steep where the trash and debris have been removed.