ILWACO — Work is underway to replace the Port of Ilwaco’s failing east bulkhead in its commercial fishing wharf. The bulkhead protects operations at Safe Coast Seafoods from flooding during storms and events like king tides.

May completion is anticipated. The in-water work window is open through Feb. 15, but the in-water portion of the project can extend past that date if the end is in sight.

An important project

Built in the mid-20th century, the failing bulkhead’s external retaining wall is composed of creosote-treated timber and is being replaced with an anchored steel sheet-pile system.

The current structure has endured severe deterioration due to its age, frequent flooding and storm damage. The new steel will reinforce and stabilize the bulkhead, which is more than 200 feet long.

Slope protection north and south of the bulkhead will also be repaired, and the top of the slope will be raised by about one and a half feet to compensate for future expected sea level rise. An access driveway in the upland wharf area directly landward of the bulkhead will also be paved and regraded to mitigate the effects of sea level rise.

“[Safe Coast Seafoods] is now our only processing plant, so it’s super important that we keep that in a stable condition,” Port Manager Tracy Lofstrom said, noting that replacing the bulkhead will also improve cargo-transfer efficiency. “They haven’t even been able to drive semi trucks out there, and once it’s done they will be able to.”

Supply chain concerns for the steel sheet-piles — which by law have to be American-made — are what Lofstrom has been fretting over the most. “Obviously, it’s not quite as bad as it was during covid, but that’s my biggest worry because if that were to happen, then the whole project would probably have to be delayed,” she said.

Monitoring of the bulkhead’s ongoing movement since November 2022 indicates that the structure “is in the process of active failure,” the port stated in a permit application filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Safe Coast Seafoods lands roughly $14 million in commercial seafood a year, making it one of the most active wharfs in the state. Cargo operations at the port would be shut down if the bulkhead fails, which the port says would negatively impact a wide swath of maritime and non-maritime businesses.

“Yes, it is only one of our tenants, but if that whole thing fell into the water we would lose one of our big tenants and it would totally affect our landings and all of that stuff,” Lofstrom said.

Funding sources

The port has won funding for the project at both the state and federal level in recent years, headlined by a $2.4 million grant via the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program in 2021.

The port was also awarded a $637,500 low-interest loan and $112,500 grant from Washington’s Community Economic Revitalization Board in 2021, and received $80,000 in .09 sales tax funding from the Pacific County Council of Governments. The deadline to use the funds have been extended since they were first awarded, giving the port needed flexibility.

Lofstrom expects that the port will tap into its Industrial Development District (IDD) funding, which can be used on harbor and industrial improvements at the port. “I’m hoping that we don’t spend more than $500,000 off of our IDD.”