Queen Charlotte's harbour will have a brand new breakwater before spring, according to the DFO's Adrian Rowland. Construction on sections of the floating concrete wave barrier will begin this fall, with installation before May, he said.
The existing log barrier part of the breakwater is facing repair costs, he said, and they have decided to replace rather than repair it. It was in the long-range plan for the harbour anyway, he added. The part to be replaced is the one just made of logs, and the new pieces will be the same as the two existing concrete sections.
"We are going to construct and moor a pair of concrete floating breakwaters identical to the ones already there," he said. It's going to be in exactly the same place as the old section, he said.
Mr. Rowland refused to give the project a dollar figure, because it has not yet been put up for tender. "If I do that, then all the contractors will just bid for that amount," he said. The components might be built on the islands, or brought from elsewhere, depending on who gets the contract - but there will be some local employment involved in the installation, he said.