Two-and-a-half years after its announcement, Port of Bremerton’s director of marine facilities James Weaver hopes to begin construction of a new breakwater for the Port Orchard Marina in July.

The breakwater was installed in 1974. 2023 marks its 49th year in the water, nearly double its estimated life expectancy of 25 years. “It’s reached its end of life, really,” Weaver said. “It hasn’t fared as well as many of us who were born before that.”

The design and engineering contract to replace the 1,500-foot floating breakwater that surrounds the marina’s 341 permanent and 100 guest saltwater slips was awarded in September of 2020 to PND Engineers Inc. of Anchorage, AK. Since then, Weaver said port officials have worked to secure permitting and negotiate habitat mitigation with local and state tribes.

Officials also have worked to obtain funding and grants from local, state and federal government sources to fund the over $15 million project. “We have about $6 million in hand,” Weaver said in a recent update to the Port Orchard Bay Street Association. “And we’re pursuing another $7 (million) or $8 (million) from federal agencies that should close up that funding gap.”

One group Weaver said the port is looking to work with is Kitsap Transit, as the new breakwater is expected to include recharging capabilities for electric boats and ferries. “We’ll be setting it up so that as the vessels go to electric, we can accommodate their needs and have more and more options.”

Weaver continued to boast the heightened infrastructure capabilities of the new breakwater, but while construction is conducted offsite, he also said it would be important to maintain the old one as much as possible. The past winter was especially hard on the old breakwater, with several underwater connections breaking loose that caused it to be closed to public access.

Work is being done to repair the underwater connections and brackets, as it will continue to be used through the new breakwater’s construction process until the estimated completion in 2025.