News Release
| Release Number: | 03-004 |
| Dated: | 1/10/2003 |
| Contact: | Public Affairs Office, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is inviting media representatives to view one of the final workdays of the Coos Bay emergency jetty repair project.
Interested media should meet Corps representatives on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 1:30 p.m. at the Bureau of Land Management boat ramp, located on the Trans Pacific Parkway near the entrance to the fore dune road.
The breach in the north jetty, which was located where the jetty comes into contact with the beach, was created during a major Pacific storm in November. The opening was about 100 feet wide and 500 feet long. A new erosion area, which the contractor will be repairing, has developed but is much smaller than the original breach. The new erosion is about 50 feet wide and 50 feet long. The contractor expects to complete the project by Thursday, Jan. 16.
During the tour, media representatives can expect to see the contractor placing some final rocks onto an erosion area on the jetty and onto the original breach area. The contractor, Kerr Contractors, Inc., Tualatin, Ore., will be using a 1200 excavator to place rock onto the jetty. Attendees also will be able to see the repaired breach section of the jetty, as well as the beach area at the base of the jetty where 50,000 cubic yards of sand was placed. Placement of the sand was necessary to help the beach recover from the damages caused by the jetty breach.
The Corps constructed the jetties at Coos Bay in the 1890s to improve conditions across the bar for ships traveling between the bay and Pacific Ocean. The Corps currently maintains a 45-foot navigation channel across the bar and a 37-foot channel into the bay to the towns of North Bend and Coos Bay for deep-draft navigation.
An explanation of how jetties are constructed is available on the Internet at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/pa/pubs/jetty.pdf. Jetties were constructed to aid ships traveling between rivers and the ocean, and were never intended for recreational purposes. Jetties can be very dangerous and should be admired for their complexity and contributions to the region from a safe distance.