Grand Haven’s North Pier, also known as “Fisherman’s Pier” is undergoing a major renovation to make it safer for boaters and those strolling on the pier, thanks to a $7.5 million grant made possible by the Biden-Harris infrastructure law.
Seven hundred feet of the pier’s steel walls will be removed and replaced with a barrier of large rocks that will lessen the impact of waves and reduce erosion. With these upgrades, the concrete walkway on top of the pier will be safer for pedestrians and the harbor will be safer for recreational boaters.
“The early harbors built back in the 1800s were like timber cribs filled with stone,” Liz Wilkinson, the resident engineer for the U.S. Army Corps’ Grand Haven office, said. “Those were great at absorbing waves, but the timber tends to rot when it is exposed to air. So for the last 50-plus years, we’ve been replacing those with sheet pile walls.”
Sheet piles are generally made from steel panels that last a long time but do nothing to reduce wave action and can actually make things worse. Because of this, waves can enter the harbor, creating a dangerous situation for boaters. Speaking to MLive, Wilkinson said, “The waves have created a safety issue for some vessels depending on the strength and direction of the wind.”
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, which is conducting the work, vessels and staff from the Detroit Project Office (DPO), lare deploying around the Lower Peninsula to Grand Haven to perform the work, including the DPO floating plant that will be used for digging trenches and moving rock during the projects.
Pat Kuhne, Corps of Engineers Detroit Project Office operations manager called the project “a great opportunity for the Detroit and Grand Haven Project Offices to collaborate and be mutually beneficial by keeping our District marine construction skills sharp while improving our facilities.
During construction, Fisherman’s Pier will have a 200-foot buffer area closed near the pier end. About 30 cubic yards of concrete, stone, and rebar will be used to fill a void in the breakwater. Work began in May of 2024 and is expected to be complete in the fall.
The $9.5 million upgrade is being paid for largely by $7.5 million from the Biden-Harris infrastructure law. The infrastructure law was signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021. It is funding projects across the country to expand broadband access, improve clean water and electric grid infrastructure, as well as funding road and bridge projects and other transportation improvements like the north pier in Grand Haven.
THREE KEY FACTS:
- Grand Haven’s north pier, “Fisherman’s Pier”, is unsafe due to excessive wave action created by years of easy fixes to maintain its physical integrity.
- A major renovation of the pier is underway to make the pier safer for recreational boaters and pier pedestrians through the installation of wave attenuator structures and other structural improvements.
- Funds made possible by Biden-Harris infrastructure law will provide $7.5 million of the $9.5 million project cost comes from the Biden-Harris infrastructure law.
