News Release
| Release Number: | 04-181 |
| Dated: | 9/15/2004 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
PORTLAND, Ore. – Work began this week to construct a revetment to protect the north jetty at the mouth of Tillamook Bay, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today.
The Corps has hired Steelhead Constructors, Inc. of Palo Cedro, Calif., to perform the work. The contractor was awarded the $526,680 contract on Sept. 2.
Under the contract, Steelhead will construct a 210-foot-long stone revetment along the shoreline perpendicular to the jetty. There in an option in the contract that would allow the Corps – if additional funds become available -- to have Steelhead build the revetment to a maximum of 360 feet.
A thin saddle of fore dune is separating the Pacific Ocean from a low-lying area along the significantly deteriorated north jetty root -- the landward portion of the jetty -- that has not been repaired since it was constructed in 1918. The revetment will protect the weakened jetty root from significant ocean forces, which could breach the jetty.
A potential breach could cause destruction of the U.S. Coast Guard tower adjacent to the north jetty and filling-in of the Tillamook navigation channel, impacting vessel traffic into and out of the bay. Past measures by local authorities to project the jetty from breaching involved placing sandbags in the same area the revetment will be constructed. During severe storms, high waves have displaced and destroyed the sandbags.
Work mostly will take place Sunday afternoons through Friday afternoons, and should be completed by the end of September or early October.