Jetty stone is arriving and crews are preparing for some heavy lifting at the North Jetty in Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is staging equipment and material to repair the 100-year-old navigation structure.
The construction is required to maintain the jetty system, which provides safe transit to ships travelling between the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean.
“ The good news is that we’re ahead of schedule, ” said Eric Bluhm, Corps project manager . “ Our original schedule had us working in the park through 2016, but it looks like we’ll be able to finish this phase of repairs by October.”
The accelerated schedule means construction traffic will be very heavy in the area adjacent to the park, including Ilwaco, Washington. Trucks are hauling equipment and materials Monday through Friday; jetty stone will also be delivered Saturday mornings beginning May 9, through the end of June.
“ We realize having these large trucks travelling through the area is inconvenient ,” said Bluhm. “ Adding Saturday hauls to the schedule means we’ll get most of the stone staged early in the season, minimizing impacts later in the summer when the weather is warmer and there are more visitors to the area .”
The Mouth of the Columbia River’s jetty system was built from 1885 to 1939. The jetties have undergone repairs and rehabilitation several times since original construction. The MCR jetty system was designed to minimize navigation channel maintenance and provide safe transit between the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River.