VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — The Corps of Engineers is proposing an 18-year construction project that would cost more than $400 to rehabilitate eroding jetties at the mouth of the Columbia River.
The north and south jetties were originally constructed between 1885 and 1917. They tame the river’s notoriously rough bar, enabling a multibillion-dollar shipping industry.
The Vancouver Columbian reports the project calls for placing more than 1 million tons of rock on the jetties. Each stone would weigh between 30 and 50 tons.
A corps spokesman said the project will be constructed in phases, to minimize the risk of funding setbacks in the future.