PORT TOWNSEND — Sidewalks are open all along Water Street, but the renovation of the reconfigured Wave Gallery and a newly designed Pope Marine Park is on hold until the end of the festival season.
The city hoped to get the park done prior to the triple whammy of this weekend’s Wooden Boat Festival, the Port Townsend Film Festival set Sept. 24-26 and the Kinetic Sculpture Race scheduled Oct. 2-3, but lack of clearance from the Army Corps of Engineers to fill in the Tidal Clock held up the process.
As a compromise, the sidewalk on the water side of Water Street was opened in the two-block space between the old police station and the Northwest Maritime Center, improving the pedestrian flow during the Wooden Boat Festival.
The sidewalk was closed for about two months while work on the park continued.
Portions of the sidewalk were filled in with a temporary layer of asphalt and will be replaced after construction commences in October, Planning Director Rick Sepler said.
“The next step in the process will be fairly disruptive, so we thought we would wait until things calmed down,” Sepler said.
In addition to rebuilding the park, the city plans to repave parts of Madison Street, which will cause major traffic and pedestrian inconveniences, Sepler said.
Sepler said the project has gone well so far, and its postponement is not a setback.
“There was only one thing that needed to be done at a particular time, and that was moving the Wave Gallery,” he said.
The Wave Gallery observation platform was moved back into place in August after its original rotting wood supports were replaced with steel pilings.
“We managed to get it done within the required window,” Sepler said.
There are no firm dates for completion of the project, since bad weather can cause delays, he said.
The city is awaiting word from the Army Corps of Engineers on its proposal to fill the Tidal Clock and turn it into an amphitheater.
Once that is completed, access to the Wave Gallery will be built, Sepler said.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
