$33 million baby

Reconstruction of boat basin is about to begin

Boats line D Dock, the first dock scheduled for demolition when Dutra Group begins reconstruction of the inner boat basin. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The Crescent City Harbor’s reconstruction of the inner boat basin will break ground within two to three weeks, and the crowded dock hugging the north side of the basin is slated first for demolition.

Dozens of boats, including the 37-foot Christina Maria, will relocate to other areas of the harbor while D Dock is replaced.

A few vessels will take refuge on C Dock, but most will be moved to G and H docks, which are currently all but deserted.

Dutra Group was awarded the  $33,783,820 project to rebuild the inner boat basin, which was destroyed by the March 2011 tsunami.

Dutra’s project manager has moved to town and the company is setting up shop in a leased building in the harbor on Marine Way. Stover Engineering has set up an on-site office trailer nearby, and Mel Jennings, Stover’s on-site construction manager, expects Dutra to soon “hit the ground running.”

The first phase of summer work commences with building a more permanent roadway on top of the rock slope that forms the oceanside half of the northern border of the inner basin.

The Christina Maria will be among dozens of boats moved away from D Dock when the work begins. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

A section of D dock will be reused as a temporary dock to connect the new roadway to G and H docks, which currently must be reached by ferrying to them.

Jennings said that temporary utilities should be provided to the boats moved to G and H docks within a month of the move.

“It's probably going to move fairly quickly once they get going,” he said.

On Monday, Stover Engineering representatives met with the manufacturers of the new docks to review dock designs before the manufacturers submit their final plans.

Tonight, an update on the project will be given to harbor commissioners during their 6:30 p.m. meeting at the Flynn Center.

Work will commence with building a new road atop the rock wall at the northern border of the inner boat basin. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

Roughly half of the new, permanent docks are scheduled to be installed within this year’s construction window, which ends Nov. 15 — well before the start of next year’s Dungeness crab season.

The entire project is scheduled to be finished in the fall of 2013. Upon completion, the harbor will have 50-year protection, meaning it will be able to withstand the strongest tsunami that has a 2-percent chance of occurring in any given year (i.e. once every 50 years).

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