Port commissioners gave the green light last week to a $13.39 million proposal to rebuild the jetties at Point Hudson.

The Port Townsend Port Commission unanimously approved a preservation plan at its meeting June 24 to replace the breakwaters as part of a three-phase effort that would also lead to restoration of the 1930s-’40s-era buildings at Point Hudson, as well as the future renovation of needed infrastructure and utilities at the historic site.

The first phase of the plan focuses on rebuilding the two 80-year-old jetties that protect the Port Hudson Marina.

Preliminary plans call for starting first on the South Jetty, followed by the reconstruction of the North Jetty.

Phase 2 of the plan would see the buildings at the site restored, followed by Phase 3 renovation of infrastructure.

Port commissioners stressed that even with funding from last November’s voter-approved tax levy, additional money for the project will need to come from city, county, state, and other sources.

The reconstruction of the jetties will include uncoated steel pipe piles, but battered in appearance to match the aesthetics of the existing breakwaters. The jetties will be filled with large pieces of granite for armoring, and a new walkway is planned for the top of the south breakwater. 

The new jetties are expected to last at least 30 years.

The current jetties — made of timber piles, walers, cable tiebacks and basalt rocks for armoring — were first built in 1934 and rehabbed in 1969 and 1996. But the jetties have deteriorated over time, and a storm in December 2018 broke tops off some of the piles while also severing cable ties and washed away pieces of the jetties’ rock core.

Consultants said the project may take two construction seasons to complete, with work coming to an end in spring of 2022 under the best-case scenario.

Although the replacement of the jetties is vital to the protection of the Port Hudson Marina, port commissioners noted the high cost of the effort.

Port Commissioner Pete Hanke said it was “exceedingly disappointing” that the design for the jetty project was nearing $700,000 “and probably pushing for more by the time we get out the door.” 

“We are still throwing a ball that has to go through a lot of small hoops,” Hanke said.

“I have all of those same feelings that you have,” added Port Commissioner Bill Putney.

Putney was also worried that damage from another storm could prompt expensive emergency repairs.

The port may also have to consider closing the marina for part of the year if the existing jetties won’t protect the boats there, Putney said.

Support — both political and financial — from other governments was also needed to get the project completed, he added.

“We are not in the position, I don’t believe, to spend $13 million on a project that, no matter how far out you stretch the horizon, is going to return that investment to the Port,” Putney said.

He also noted the previous estimate for repairing the jetties was pegged at $7.5 million. 

Public opposition to the aesthetics of that project, however, prompted a new vision, which later received the endorsement of a group of community stakeholders who reviewed the proposed design.

Commissioner Pam Petranek noted that if the port is serious about preserving Point Hudson, the preservation plan must include the jetties.

“I think it feels like we are on more solid ground than we ever have been before for moving this project forward,” Petranek said.

Offering a guarded vote in favor of the work, Putney again stressed the port couldn’t do it alone. 

“The historic preservation of Point Hudson is not just a port responsibility; it’s a community responsibility and other agencies within the community need to share this burden with us. We just don’t have the financial wherewithal to pull it off ourselves,” he said.

The board voted 3-0 to approve the Point Hudson Preservation Plan and also signed off on a $373,000 contract with consultant Mott MacDonald Engineering, Inc. to complete final engineering and bid documents for the Point Hudson jetty re-design.

Total project costs for the jetty project, which include the north and south breakwaters, are $13.39 million. The construction cost has been estimated at $12.5 million.

Replacing the South Jetty was estimated at $7.62 million, with construction alone costing $7 million.