Phase one of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) $20.5 million repair project on the Lorain Harbor West Breakwater is on target for completion in this month with phase two about to get under way.
"The Port of Lorain has been moving the goods that power this region's economy for generations — more than 1,400 jobs, nearly $36 million in business revenue and over $323 million in total economic activity generated by the Lorain Harbor," Tiffany McClelland, executive director of the Lorain Port and Finance Authority, told Construction Equipment Guide. "This investment in our West Breakwater ensures that the vessels carrying the cargo our region depends on can continue to navigate safely into our harbor."
USACE photo
Ohio's Lorain Harbor is a deep draft commercial harbor which handled one million tons of cargo, including limestone (93 percent) and salt (2.4 percent) in 2023, Construction Equipment Guide learned from the project website. The breakwater is in danger of failing due to damage from waves, ice and storms. The repairs will restore the breakwater to its original height of 2,812 ft. and is 100 percent federally funded. USACE last completed maintenance on the West Breakwater in 2015 and 2016.
USACE photo
Phase one of the project repairs the first 1,000 ft. from the historic West Breakwater Lighthouse toward the shoreline. The section is the most deteriorated portion of the breakwater. The $10.2 million contract was awarded to Great Lakes Dock and Materials in August 2024. Crews first put down a layer of bedding stone, then a layer of underlay stone and finally, the layer of armor stone, about 3.5 tons each.
The second phase is a continuation of phase one and will repair the 1,750 ft. closer to the shoreline. The $10.2 million contract was awarded in March 2026 to Michigan-based Dean Marine and Excavating. That work is expected to start the next construction season and anticipated to be completed by 2028.
"Contractors generally use cranes to place the stones, but this contractor actually has what is basically a large excavator," Jesse Laux, civil engineer of USACE, Buffalo District, told Construction Equipment Guide. "Instead of a bucket at the end, it has a material handler on the end, which is like two claws that can grab the stones and spin them and push them and put them in where they want them. They have GPS locators on these as well."
USACE photo
The project comes with numerous challenges. Much of the stone is placed underwater, making it difficult to see if it is placed correctly, Laux said. The placement of the stone involves a careful collaboration between surveyors, the contractor and the USACE.
It begins with the survey underwater which is then sent to the Corps for review. The Corps allows for about 6 in. in either direction. If the stone appears to be correctly placed, the job moves forward; if not, the surveyors continue their work until the placement is correct.
"They'll do a little bit of work, and then you've got to wait for some time," Laux said. "The tricky thing is, how do you plan the work to where, if you do have to go back and polish something up, you don't have to remove a layer of a different stone that you already placed. So, there's a lot of quality control."
Because all of the work takes place from a barge on the lakeside of the breakwater, the project is largely dependent on the weather.
"So, there's no real protection from the wind," Laux said. "Any wind between 20 and 30 miles an hour can really push them off course, and it really makes it hard for them to maintain positions. And something unique about this breakwater is there's a lighthouse at the end of it. They call it the Jewel of the Port and it's been around for over 100 years. We try to cater to them as much as possible."
USACE photo
That means, working around powerlines that run to the lighthouse beneath the water. Crews know the general location of the cables, but they're covered with dirt and sand and other debris in the water.
"We've had the Corps bring the dive team out. They had the power turned off, and went out there, and actually determined exactly where the cable is, where it comes into the structure so when we have our contractor put stones out there, we don't inadvertently put a 2,000-pound stone on the cable. We definitely have to do due diligence."
