Construction work begins at Long Beach Harbor

Construction work at the Long Beach Harbor has begun on the outer wall.

Construction started Tuesday, pulling out rip rap and they will test pilings by the end of this week. The city does not have money to repair the actual harbor yet, but the city is taking it upon themselves to mitigate the outer walls to protect the harbor once it is rebuilt.

Without the wall, the harbor would continue to sustain damage, even by smaller storms.

This eight-month project is phase one out of several phases to come. Phase two will finish the wall all the way to the beach and then phase three will be in the inner wall that will be repaired.

Once finalized, the foundation work will be in place. Long Beach Alderman Donald Frazer said, “To say I’m relieved is a word I can use, but you can see work starting which gives you new hope. Citizens have been upset because they don’t see work. You see these piers that are still torn up after two years by Hurricane Zeta, the board, the mayor, we’re frustrated as well and we fight for this every day.”

This phase one project is costing $2.5 million, most of which came from Restore Act and GOMESA funding.