Long-awaited breakwater fix coming soon

Warm weather drew people to Port Washington’s lakefront last weekend, including some who crossed 10-foot-long beams to traverse the city’s breakwater and walk out to the lighthouse.

But officials hope that by the end of May the breakwater entry will be repaired as a new steel grate ramp is installed and the railing fixed.

The beams were exposed when a Jan. 11 gale lifted the ramp at the entry to the breakwater and “caused its destruction,” Public Works Director Rob Vanden Noven said.

The city’s breakwater consultant, Foth Infrastructure and Environment, has designed the new ramp and city officials were to meet with the contractor on Wednesday, May 6, to discuss its installation, Vanden Noven said.

“It’s been a slow process,” he said, adding officials hope to have the new ramp installed by the end of May.

Vanden Noven said he doesn’t know how much the ramp will cost, adding Foth and the contractor have been in discussions over why the walkway failed and who will pay for the repair work.

The city does not anticipate having to pay for the work, he said, and Foth has committed to working toward that goal in its negotiations.

“They have not yet reached a final agreement,” Vanden Noven said.

Installing the new ramp should take less than a week, he said.

Work on the far east end of the breakwater, where the city plans to install a new cap and fill the voids under the structure, is expected to be done this year, Vanden Noven added.

The design is being finalized, he said, and bids for the project will be sought by the end of June.

Vanden Noven said he has not seen final costs for this work, but it is expected to be less than $1.2 million. The project will be paid for with a $500,000 grant and borrowed funds, he said.

The city originally looked at installing an elevated walkway on the east end of the breakwater, but officials feared it would not survive the force of Lake Michigan’s storms.

Instead, aldermen agreed to have a concrete plank cap placed on the existing walkway, something Foth said should last 30 to 40 years with proper maintenance.

The 10-inch-thick concrete planks will be grouted onto the existing cap. Steel armor walls will be added to create the form for the concrete and also serve to shore up the structure.

No railing will be installed on this portion of the walkway.