SEATTLE – Repairs to the Neah Bay outer breakwater will begin Monday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District.
Construction is expected to take about three months and is being performed by Ahtna Engineering Services, LLC, from Anchorage, Alaska. The cost of repairs to reestablish the crest width to 25 feet and 18 feet above mean lower low water is $2.19 million.
Large truck and trailer units will haul about 11,000 tons of large armor stone to the site. The armor stones weigh 10 to 18 tons each.
The outer breakwater is subjected to ocean swells that propagate through the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the Pacific Ocean. Typically, the swells can have significant wave heights up to 14 feet. These conditions cause significant overtopping of the breakwater and have resulted in repeated damage of the center reach. Repairs to the structure were performed in 1949, 1959, 1980, 1998 and 2001.
Proposed repairs will remain within the breakwater’s existing footprint and will not result in substantial or long-term differences to the environment. Development and design was coordinated with the U.S. of Fish and Wildlife, National Marine Fisheries Service, Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife, Ecology and Natural Resources, Washington State Historic Preservation Office, Makah Tribal Council and Makah Tribal Historic Preservation Officer.
Release no. 12-021