$14M Earmarked by Army Corps of Engineer for Breakwaters Repairs

A congresswoman on Tuesday cheered the Army Corps of Engineers’ announcement that $14 million in federal dollars have been earmarked to fix damaged areas along the San Pedro and Long Beach breakwaters.

Rep. Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro, who has been pushing to get the repairs made before the arrival of major, El Nino storms, called the funding a “huge relief.”

“I have been fighting for repairs to our breakwater for some time now, and I am happy that the Army Corps recognized their importance,” she said.

In December, Hahn asked for immediate repairs on the San Pedro breakwater, a mostly off-coast structure that calms the intensity of waves coming into the Port of Los Angeles and the surrounding bay.

The Army Corps found four major damage areas, and 12 spots with “significant” damage, which Hahn said could lead to further damage to the barrier in a big storm, allowing waves to crash onto shore.

The repairs were estimated to cost about $10 million, according to Hahn.

The San Pedro Breakwater stretches out from Cabrillo Beach to the Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse, near the entrance of the Port of Los Angeles. It is one of three breakwaters, made of rocks, that surround the bay.

The Middle Breakwater, which is the longest at 18,500 feet, sustained major damage when Hurricane Marie struck in August 2014 and required $5 million in emergency repairs, according to Army Corps spokesman Greg Fuderer.

Fuderer said about $9 million was also allocated later for additional work to repair “less critical damage” on the Middle Breakwater and the Long Beach Breakwater.

--City News Service, photo via Wiki Commons