USACE to Continue Duluth Pier Repairs

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue repairing its Duluth southern Vessel Yard Pier with Phase 2 beginning in July.

Repairs this year are estimated to end around November and resume Spring 2025 with completion in the Spring of 2026.

Michels Construction Inc. of Brownsville, Wisconsin was awarded the contract for encasing the existing south pier and slip headwall structures with steel sheeting and piling, site lighting, storm drainage, shore power improvements, replacement of bollards with helical pile foundations and concrete paving. The contract was awarded for $5.6 million on May 21, 2024.

Phase 1 Vessel Yard Pier repairs included demolition and excavation, sheet and drilled in place pile installation, fill stone placement, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gauge pit repairs, concrete grade beam construction and replacement of all bollards, fendering and lighting and concluded in October 2022.

The upgraded Vessel Yard Pier will provide mooring for the Duluth Area Office.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, maintains a navigation system of 81 harbors, including the Great Lakes Connecting Channels that join lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie.