The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $3.3 million dollar contract to a Rochester firm to make repairs to the west pier at Little Sodus Bay in Fair Haven in Cayuga County.
Crane-Hogan Structural Systems was awarded the contract last week. The pier has suffered damage in recent years. The repairs will ensure that boaters have safe passage between Little Sodus Bay, Lake Ontario and the rest of the Great Lakes.
According to a Corps of Engineers news release:
“I worked hard to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Act so we could supercharge job-creating, critical projects like this flood-prevention project in Little Sodus Bay. With these federal funds via the Army Corps, the Village of Fair Haven and Little Sodus Bay Harbor will finally build these protections to give residents the peace of mind and flood protection they deserve,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer. “I visited Fair Haven in 2019 after another severe flood, in a pattern of far too many that devastated the community, putting their homes, businesses and the area’s beloved tourism industry at risk, and promised I would not stop fighting until Little Sodus Bay Harbor received the funding it desperately needed to protect its community. I thank the Army Corps of Engineers for heeding my call and I will continue to work closely with them to see this project to completion.”
“I am excited that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is delivering funds that allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with repairs to the West Pier in Little Sodus Bay,” said Rep. John Katko (NY-24). “This project will help ensure the safety of Little Sodus Bay and address damage that has been caused by storms and persistent high-water levels on Lake Ontario. Securing the West Pier is important for the Village of Fair Haven, and I am proud to have helped deliver these funds for this project.”
Construction of the permanent repairs is scheduled to begin in Summer 2022 and be completed by Fall 2022. During construction, the navigation channel will remain open.
Repairs will encapsulate approximately 600 linear feet of the southern end of the west pier with new sheet pile walls and a concrete cap. The work includes clearing new driving lines on both the land and channel side of the existing pier, and removal of several sections of sheet pile, concrete cap, and the temporary repair structure’s angle brackets and wire rope. New sheet pile will be installed and space around the existing pier will be with filled with granular fill before a new concrete cap is poured. Additional work will include installation of new steel safety ladders and concrete stairs at the northern edge of the new concrete cap.
The need for repairs was identified in 2019 when the steel sheet pile wall along the channel side of the west pier began significantly separating from the concrete cap. Inspections were expedited, and $170,000 in temporary repairs to secure the pier were completed in summer 2019. Those repairs included attaching cables to secure the damaged sheet pile to the land side of the pier, installing brackets to secure the areas outside of the damaged sheet pile, and placing a six-foot-tall chain link fence around the damaged concrete cap.
Storms in 2021 that included high wind and strong waves caused additional damage to the west pier. The pier was again inspected by a USACE technical team, and the temporary repairs are expected to continue to hold until construction on permanent repairs begins.
USACE is committed to doing its part to ensure public safety. Fencing will remain in place through construction. The public is strongly encouraged to stay away from the damaged sections of the pier and use caution when navigating through the channel.
This project is fully federally funded through the Fiscal Year 2022 Infrastructure and Jobs Act (IIJA).
It is a critical time to make repairs in our aging navigation infrastructure. Such investments directly support the nation’s economy, provide safe navigation, and protect critical coastal infrastructure.
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