Set to kick off on January 27, construction is on the horizon for the Shelter Island Boat Launch. According to a recent statement, the Port of San Diego has announced repair work focusing on the west side of the launch facility, which is expected to wrap up in April. Boaters do not need to worry, though the east side will stay open for business throughout the process.

With the task at hand, crews will move about 200 cubic yards of sand to support an upland beach facing erosion, fortify the existing seawall with new defenses against sand migration, and swap out damaged floats for a fresh dock. Settlements eager for serene strolls or drives may have to navigate altered routes, and it would be wise to brace for the buzz and clatter of machinery. The Port promises to limit the construction hustle to 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Flashback to June 2023, when the west floating dock took a hit thanks to shifting sands, an issue serious enough to prompt closure for safety's sake. The Port's engineering team and their consultants hastily spearheaded an investigation to pinpoint the issues and plot a course for restoration. It turns out that the wall was designed to let waves through, and a filter fabric meant to hold back sand took a harder beating than expected. The likely culprits: a sequence of brawny winter storms.

After a thorough investigation, design brainstorming kicked off in the fall of 2023, in parallel with a quest to snag the necessary permits under CEQA and from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which gave its nod in the spring of 2024. A vital stipulation from the Army Corps: fix it without ruffling the eelgrass in the launch basin, so that means no heavy-duty sand movers allowed anywhere near the plants. The financial forecast spells out a project costing nearly $717,000, furnished by a $386,775 construction contract with Harbour Constructors Co., and $266,114 for a newly minted dock from Bellingham Marine, an investment for maritime merriment.