MARQUETTE -- Associated Constructors has been working through the summer to create a navigable channel in the Dead River and recently started using a new piece of equipment. Crews have recently put a floating excavator into the river to dredge the water.
The project is funded by UPPCO to create access to the river system destroyed by the Silver Lake Dam flood of 2003.
The amphibious excavator will operate in up to four-and-a-half feet of water and will float in deeper waters. Crews say it's making the job that much easier.
"Doing it without it, you would have been a barge and crane method, and we looked at all of our options, went to New Orleans, found an amphibious excavator, purchased it, hauled it here in three pieces, assembled it here on the job site and we're using it," said Jim O'Dovero of Associated Constructors.
The project is expected to be completed in the next two weeks.
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