It's Official: Wares Creek Dredging Has Begun

The official "groundbreaking" ceremony for the Wares Creek dredging project, nearly three decades in the making, finally took place Monday morning. 

Charlotte Reagan had watched over preparations for this day from her condominium next door to the dredge site. Even though she has only lived in the area for 15 months, she said it has been exciting to see the preparations for the day so many people spent decades to make happen.

Her neighbor, Carl Jackson, said he's been watching the clearing and preparations unfold from his sixth floor condo as well. He's been in Bradenton for 15 years and has been hearing talk about the project since he moved here.

The muddy creek bed was in full view during the ceremony. Limbs and shore birds dotted the raised creek bed in the middle of the waters as a dredge stood nearby ready to scoop up the silt that has left Wares Creek prone to flooding.

The significance of the groundbreaking was clear as representatives from local, state and federal government talked about the decades of work to get the urban dredge project funded and scheduled.  Among the displays near the groundbreaking was a hammer that Vice President Al Gore gave to local officials in 1997 in recognition of the community's concerted efforts to get the project done.

It took so long, that former County Commissioner Pat Glass, who once promised to jump into the creek if the dredge ever floated along the waters, said she hasn't owned a bathing suit for years now. She did, however, offer to put on a pair of wading boots and walk into the creek.

Congressman Vern Buchanan talked about the cooperation at every level to get the project approved and funded. He said without such cooperation and cost-sharing Manatee County wouldn't have gotten the project funded.

If the entire project is completed, it is estimated to cost more than $51 million and less than half of that will come from the federal government.

Col. Alfred A. Pantano Jr. led the crowd in a big Hoohah to celebrate their success so far before reminding them that there's still much work to be done.

"This is just the first phase of the project," he said. "You have to keep up the fight, it's going to take the same level of comittment to get the entire project done."

While the project has taken decades to get going, Vice Mayor Patrick Roff said it's possible that the timing couldn't be better. The project is pumping money into the economy as economic recovery continues to drag.

"We are restoring hope, we are restoring confidence, we are restoring the creek," Roff said.