North Jetty repair work begins in Ocean Shores

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 30, 2026

On Monday evening, Navigation Section Chief Brad Schultz and Navigation Program Manager Gabby Chiappini of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle District, along with City Administrator Scott Andersen, conducted a town hall at the Ocean Shores Convention Center to inform and answer questions from residents regarding the projected three-year North Jetty major maintenance project that is just getting underway.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ official website states, “Twin jetties (17,200 feet and 13,734 feet) secure the mouth of the Harbor with a deep draft 22-mile channel from the Pacific Ocean to the city of Aberdeen. Westport Marina provides moorage for a fishing fleet and the U.S. Coast Guard Station. The deep draft channel is 350 feet wide, increasing to 1,000 feet over the bar. Channel depth is 36 feet up to the major Port docks at Cow Point and then 32 feet from there to the last dock at South Aberdeen.”

Back in March, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials awarded a $30 million contract to Astoria, Oregon-based Big River Construction to address sections of North Jetty that have sustained the most damage over time, including areas where wave overtopping has reduced the crest width and height. The first approximately 40-ton rock was delivered to Ocean Shores on Monday, July 20.

“The North Jetty is very important to us, I understand how important it is to y’all and the community of Ocean Shores, I just want to promote trust and transparency while we’re here tonight,” Schultz said.

After Schultz’s opening remarks, Chiappini delivered a comprehensive presentation about the project, including the history of Grays Harbor and the structure, the materials to be used and their sources, transportation of the rock, the impacts on the community and infrastructure and the strategic importance of the jetty’s integrity.

According to the presentation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Navigation Section is responsible for the Grays Harbor federal Navigation Channel, the North Jetty is critical infrastructure for that channel and that jetties assist in maintaining the navigation channel across the ocean bar. Maintenance is 100 percent federally funded. The North Jetty was originally completed in 1916 and repaired in 1942, 1976 and 2000.

This initiative will involve a land-based repair of 6,500 feet of the jetty trunk and root, and 1,000 feet of the jetty tail with approximately 110,000 tons of new armor stone sourced from Skaglund Quarry in Darrington and Drake Quarry in Astoria. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’s website states, “By reinforcing the areas hardest hit by waves and securing new armor stone along the channel side, the project will prevent future rock loss, adapt to sea-level rise, and stop a structural breach to keep the channel secure.”

“The jetty has taken a beating over the last century. … It’s been a really long time since the entire jetty was addressed,” Chiappini said. “Ocean Shores as you know it today didn’t exist before [the] north jetty. … I just want to make a distinction that the purpose of this infrastructure is to support the federal navigation channel. It’s not designed or authorized for flood protection or shoreline stabilization and any flood mitigation or shoreline protection that does happen from it is incidental to its job of protecting the channel.”

A maximum of 30 trucks per day, 10 on average, will roll through Ocean Shores on Ocean Shores Boulevard to deliver the rock to the site. Actual rock placement will begin in August. Construction is expected to continue through 2029 with site respiration taking place in 2030.

All active construction zones and staging areas will be marked and indicated with safety fencing. Residents and visitors are advised to stay out of the site and adhere to all posted signage.

After the presentation, attendees were afforded the opportunity to ask questions.

The project directly supports Grays Harbor by protecting the federal navigation channel and ensuring it remains open and safe for large vessels, which handle millions of tons of cargo annually through the Port of Grays Harbor.

“We are excited to see this important maintenance project move forward as the North Jetty plays a critical role in protecting the Grays Harbor Navigation Channel,” said Port of Grays Harbor Executive Director Leonard Barnes back in March. “Tons of cargo, millions of dollars of private investment and hundreds of jobs rely on the safe transit of vessels in and out of Grays Harbor and we applaud our partners at the Corps for moving this project forward.”

The city of Ocean Shores constructed a cobble berm along the north shore of Oyhut Bay to help combat erosion issues, and over the course of the past year the city has entered into relationships with the city of Westport and Grays Harbor County. In January, U.S. Rep. Emily Randall (6th District) announced that $1.1 million had been secured for Ocean Shores to help protect the city’s stormwater drainage system against threats of erosion by building a bigger, stronger, and more resilient berm.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will provide updates online here: https://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Navigation/Navigation-Projects/Grays-Harbor/