Construction could begin early next year on a project to repair Apra Harbor’s Glass breakwater, according to Black Construction President Leonard Kaae.
Kaae told the Port Authority Board of Directors Monday that the first major excavator is expected to arrive on Aug. 20, design work should run through October and the project will likely be underway by January or February.
“It's not like throwing a bunch of concrete up on the breakwater, right?” Kaae said. “It's engineered and it's detailed to withstand the testing that we've done.”
For example, the breakwater is designed to handle a 27.5-foot wave height, and the company has tested it to 35 feet using models, he said.
The repair work is part of a larger $563 million Apra Harbor waterfront project, according to a February news release from the Tutor Perini Corporation, Black Construction’s parent company.
About 6,400 linear feet of the breakwater will be repaired. Existing stone from the current structure will be used when possible, and more material will be imported from South Korea.
Kaae said the breakwater was originally built in 1945, and the last major repairs were made in 2015.