SEATTLE -- Repairs to the Quillayute Sea dike protecting the Quileute Tribe’s 800-year-old fishing village, will begin this fall.
The $5.7 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) repair project will protect the La Push community within the Quileute Indian Tribe’s reservation land on the Olympic Peninsula’s northwest coast in Clallam County, Washington. One of USACE's core mission areas is to restore degraded structures, functions and natural processes to a more natural condition.
“The dike is also vital to support U.S. Coast Guard Station Quillayute River,” said Michael Suh, project manager, and its search-and-rescue operations from the marina located on the reservation. The station’s area of responsibility covers 63 miles of Pacific Ocean coast and extends 50 nautical miles offshore.
The dike protects the Quillayute River Navigation Channel by reducing incoming wave transmissions. This protection is critical because damage from wave and/or current forces the dike has experienced over its lifetime has made it undersized and no longer able to provide the needed protection to the community.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), was passed by Congress and President Joseph R. Biden signed it into law in November 2021. USACE submitted a detailed spend plan to Congress as required by Jan. 14, 2022, 60 days after enactment of the legislation. The projects receiving funding were announced Jan. 19, 2022. The Quillayute Sea dike repair project was among those that received BIL funds.
Seattle-based Duwamish-Pacific Joint Venture should begin the project Sept. 1, 2023. The project will restore the dike structure to its authorized height 8 feet above mean lower low water within the approved in-water work window Sept. 1, 2023, through March 1, 2024. This work window is also beneficial because wave and tide conditions are favorable.
The Quileute Tribe also relies heavily upon the marina for ocean access.
The dike repair project also benefits commercial and recreational fishermen, and boaters.
For more information on USACE projects in the BIL work plan, click here.
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