By Michael Saindon, General Manager Port of Garibaldi
It has been a long road to get to this point, but we, the Port of Garibaldi) can finally announce some good news. Since the completion of the North Jetty repairs in 2009, the Port of Garibaldi and our partners (Tillamook County, Port of Tillamook Bay, the Pacific Northwest Waterway Association, Oregon Public Ports Association, Business Oregon, Senators Merkley and Wyden, and Representatives Schrader and Bonamici) have been working very hard to secure funding and coordinating logistics with the US Army Corps of Engineers.
We can now announce that contractors for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (USACE) will soon begin critical repairs to the Tillamook South Jetty. Repairs will include placement of large stone to rebuild portions of the South Jetty head and trunk. Additional activities will include roadway improvements, construction of a temporary material offload facility (MOF) near Kincheloe Point, minor dredging to maintain barge access to the MOF, and utilization of upland staging and stockpiling areas. The work is expected to require transportation of heavy equipment and materials via both barge and Bayocean Dike Road. Construction is anticipated to be complete within approximately two years.
In the interest of public safety and given the nature of the work to be performed, the contractor will be temporarily restricting access to portions of the Bayocean Peninsula during construction. This will include the northern end of the peninsula and the jetty itself, Kincheloe Point, and the portion of Bayocean Dike Road beyond the parking lot and gate as required to facilitate safe and efficient construction.
Everyone involved in this project is aware of the value Bayocean Peninsula has to our community as open recreational space/protected habitat. The USACE and the contractor have assured us that they will do their best to balance the community’s desire for access with the need to maintain a safe construction environment.
We will provide further updates as we get them. You can also visit the USACE website at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/Locations/Oregon-Coast/Tillamook-Bay/ for project updates.
The public can also sign up to receive construction updates including when work will begin, road closures and other public safety messages by emailing the USACE at cenwp-construction@usace.army.mil
-Michael Saindon, General Manager