Equipment is still ready at Barcelona Harbor for repairs to the breakwall. P-J photo by Nicole Gugino

WESTFIELD — Better late than never.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Buffalo District will soon start repair work on the Barcelona Harbor west breakwall, which was damaged by an October 2015 storm. When the weather conditions no longer pose safety risks to the work crew, the job can begin.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is eager to make these repairs as soon as weather allows,” said Lt. Col. Adam Czekanski, Buffalo District commander. “Our goal is to fix the breakwater as quickly as possible to prevent additional sediment from spilling into the harbor. We understand the importance of maintaining navigability of the channel and we are working closely with local leadership to successfully resolve the current situation.”

The Corps of Engineers initiated the project last fall, but unfavorable lake conditions prevented the contractor from completing the repair within the calendar year.

“They were successful with what they were doing that fall, and that was beginning — to remove debris that was laying on the lake bottom from when it got damaged,” said Chris Ignatowski, contracting officers representative. “So that was successful, but unfortunately they ran out of good-enough weather in order to drive the sheet pile to do the actual repair work.”

The Buffalo District awarded a contract in 2016 to Dean Marine & Excavation Inc., of Mt. Clemens, MI, to repair a damaged cell of the breakwater by driving new steel sheet piling, filling the cell with stone fill and capping the cell with concrete.

Some preparations are required before the repairs can recommence. Over the past several months, sediment has traveled through the breach in the breakwater and settled in the harbor. In order for specialized equipment to reach the project site to complete the repair, the contractor will have to dredge approximately 4,000 cubic yards of sediment and place the material outside the breakwater, downdrift of the harbor.

The repair crew is working on mobilizing that specialized equipment, the date of said mobilization hopefully being March 20. One to two weeks later, should the weather cooperate, crews can begin to dig their way to the repair area and start putting in an outer sheet pile wall, which will prevent any kind of wave action from slowing them down when they put an inner sheet pile wall in and begin filling it.

The hopeful timeline is as follows:

¯ March 20: Mobilization of specialized equipment

¯ March 27: Projected start date of dredging into the repair area

¯ April 4: Anticipated completion of dredging

¯ April 5: Begin to drive sheet pile, with a completion date of mid- to late May

¯ Early June: Put on concrete cap

“That all is weather permitting. Unfortunately, in Barcelona, weather can change real fast and get real harsh, so as long as weather holds up, that is what our projected timeline is,” said Ignatowski.

“Barcelona Harbor is a vital recreational harbor that has important implications for our local economy,” said Martha Bills, Westfield town supervisor. “I’m happy to see that plans are in motion to move the project along.”

The Buffalo District is working closely with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York Department of State to attain environmental compliance on the emergency repair action.