City will seek grant to wrap up work on breakwater

The early morning sun highlighted the Port Washington breakwater. Photo by Bill Schanen IV
The Port Washington Common Council last week agreed to seek a $750,000 Harbor Assistance Grant to complete repairs to the breakwater.
The grant would help fund repairs to the east end of the breakwater, allowing the city to complete the project it began almost five years ago.
City Administrator Mark Grams said Brian Hinrichs, lead environmental scientist for Foth Infrastructure and Environment, the city’s breakwater consultant, urged the city to apply for the grant.
“He feels confident we have a good chance,” Grams said.
If the city gets the grant — or at least some portion of the grant request — the matching funds will come from a $550,000 grant it’s already received, Grams noted.
Although that grant had been set to expire, the city received a six-month extension, he said.
The city has agreed to borrow $750,000 for the breakwater project, which is anticipated to cost between $1.3 million and $1.8 million, but grant funds would free up the borrowed money to be used on other projects, Grams said.
Earlier this year, aldermen agreed to install a concrete plank cap on the existing walkway, something Hinrichs said should last 30 to 40 years with proper maintenance.
The 10-inch-thick concrete planks would be grouted on the existing cap and other repairs made to the breakwater as part of the project. Steel armor walls will be added as well, to create the form for the concrete and also serve to shore up the structure.
Hinrichs said the Army Corps of Engineers will install additional armor stone along the breakwater in the next two to three years.
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