News Release
| Release Number: | 01-103 |
| Dated: | 6/29/2001 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. - Beach combers and anglers are asked to avoid walking on or around the north jetty at Yaquina Bay now through the end of summer.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the process of repairing the jetty and doesn't want people injured by being around the heavy equipment and boulders.
Construction crews have set up their work area to the north of the jetty and soon will be staging heavy boulders on the beach before permanently placing them near the end of the jetty.
Kiewit Pacific Company of Vancouver, Wash., received a $6.9 million contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore 100 feet at the tip of the jetty and reinforce it to withstand the unusual underwater currents and the extreme wave climate created by the Yaquina Reef.
Repair of the jetty will be completed by late September.
The construction contract required crews to rebuild an access road on top of the north jetty, which will allow vehicles to transport boulders - weighing between 25 tons and 50 tons - to the seaward end of the structure. Kiewit will use a crane to move and place the boulders.
The north jetty, built by the Corps, was completed in 1896, extended in 1966 and repaired in 1978 and 1988. Yaquina Bay and Harbor is one of the oldest navigation projects on the Oregon coast.
The purpose of a jetty is to concentrate and accelerate water flow at the mouth of a river. This concentrated water flow scours out shallow sand deposits and stabilizes the river channel. When combined with periodic dredging, jetties provide a safe route between ocean and river.
Rocks as heavy as 50 tons are placed near the jetty's seaward end to resist the perpetual onslaught of the sea. Despite their massive weight, strong waves and ocean currents can cause these stones to shift.
Over time water erodes rock. Waves move even the largest boulders from the jetties, but underwater currents, which penetrate the structure, remove smaller rocks and sand from inside the jetty. And that can create dangers - some visible, others hidden. Open crevasses, invisible sinkholes, caverns within the structure, slippery rock surfaces, and sneaker waves can be extremely dangerous for people going out on the jetties. Jetties were built to aid navigation and were never intended to be used for recreational purposes. For this reason, jetties should be admired for their complexity and contributions to the region from a distance.