PORT TOWNSEND — The Port of Port Townsend aims to finish replacement of the two Point Hudson jetties in 2022 or 2023 at a cost of $13.4 million.
Commissioners approved on Thursday several aspects of jetty work. The next steps are the redesign and permitting process.
Much of the early work, such as the permitting process, will be funded by the port’s Industrial Development District (IDD) funds. The physical work, when it comes time for that, will require outside funding.
“Moving into the work of the actual phases will be a heavy lift for the port and will require an all-hands-on-deck approach,” Executive Director Eron Berg said.
“To be clear, even with the IDD funding in place, the port will not be able to fund all of this work without outside dollars,” he said.
Two aging jetties protect the Point Hudson Marina. The repair and preservation of the more than 80-year-old jetties are the Port of Port Townsend’s top priorities when in a three-phase preservation plan. (Ken Park/Peninsula Daily News)
Berg will execute an amendment to the scope and budget of professional services agreement with Mott MacDonald Engineering Inc., which is putting together the project bidding documents. This agreement will cost $373,000.
Commissioners also approved a second personal services agreement, costing $36,000, with Artifacts Consulting Inc. Artifacts will prepare historic and cultural resource inventory and report as part of the preservation plan.
The best-case scenario has the project completed by late spring or early fall 2022. The worst-case scenario expects it to be finished by spring or fall 2023.
Port officials have discussed for years how to rehabilitate or replace the north and south jetties, which are over 80 years old and have slowly been falling apart due to age and damage from storms.
The work is part of a three-phase Point Hudson Preservation Plan.
“Replacing the overlapping jetties that protect the marina is the first and most critical phase of the preservation plan,” Berg said.
“Put simply, without these jetties we would no longer recognize Point Hudson,” he said.
“Many businesses would be shuttered and community activities like the Wooden Boat Festival would cease.”
Since 1934, the jetties have been rehabilitated twice. They underwent a major overhaul in 1969 and minor repairs in 1996. Many of the materials of the jetties now are at or well beyond their useful life, compromising the stability of the structures themselves, studies have found.
(Ken Park/Peninsula Daily News)
Port officials and key community stakeholders were presented with two options for rehabilitation: either encapsulate the existing structure, minus a few creosote timber piles to mitigate permitting issues — which would reduce demolition costs and maintain the current aesthetic — or demolish the whole thing and replace it with better materials but with the historical design options in mind.
The stakeholders — which include the City of Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Public Utility District, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Northwest Maritime Center and the Washington Trust Historic Preservation — ultimately went with the total replacement option.
Replacement protects the Point Hudson Marina and its operations for the next 30 years from wind and vessel waves as well as the inevitable rise in sea level, said Shane Philips, president of Mott MacDonald Engineering Inc., in his presentation on Thursday.
It also maintains the aesthetics, while using environmentally acceptable and updated materials, he added.
________
Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladailynews.com.
