This conceptual drawing looks west along the pier, with an elevated walkway butting up against a barrier, or a parapet, to protect from waves from the south. The bollards to moor cruise ships and large visiting boats will remain.
Bullet News GODERICH – Work to stop waves from spilling over a pier that tourists and fishers walk along and to protect the harbour will begin late summer, says a director of the Goderich Port Management Corporation.
Rowland Howe told Goderich Town Council the resurfaced south pier will feature a wheelchair accessible, walkway that elevates as it goes outward, with a four-foot-high barrier on the south side to protect it from waves that come from that direction. The old hut that contains the wave measuring equipment and bollards for mooring cruise ships and visiting large boats will remain. LED street lighting will border the walkway.
There will also be inset seating at the end of the pier where the walkway is raised to its
This conceptual drawing shows the west end of the pier (to the right) with seating from which people may watch boat traffic in the harbour.
highest level, creating an area similar to an open-air theatre from which point people can watch the boat traffic.
The structure of the old pier is not substantial enough to support a concrete cap its entire surface, so the walkway is thinner than the pier. There is access to the south side of the pier, on the other side of the barrier.
“The type of walkway will prevent people from getting their feet wet if lake levels ever rise in the future,” he said.
The $900,000 project will begin Aug. 1 in order to accommodate a provincial funding timeline, Howe said.
“I know it’s into the tourist season, but unfortunately to get that completed it needs to come forward a little bit,” he said. The Environment Assessment for the work on the pier and breakwalls was completed about two years ago. Some work on the south breakwall will also be done this year.
Council approved the design and agreed to the start date.
The south pier work is part of the $47-million harbour improvement project, with funding from GPMC, the provincial government and Compass Minerals. A substantial part of the project will be to infill about 14 acres off the north harbour to expand the wharf. An Environmental Assessment by LGL Limited, environmental research associates, is currently under way for that portion of the work.
GPMC was established in 1999 when the town bought the port from the federal government. The not-for-profit corporation of port users operates the port on behalf of the town, relying on user fees to manage day-to-day operations.
