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Lake Erie's South Breakwater getting $6M reinforcement

Waters of Lake Erie, Basin Marina, Buffalo
Eileen Buckley
/
WBFO News File Photo
Waters of Lake Erie, Basin Marina, Buffalo

More than a century of sitting on the edge of Lake Erie in Buffalo Harbor has worn down the South Breakwater to the point it is getting a year-long $6 million rehab.

Since Buffalo is much less of a shipping hotspot than it once was, the breakwaters that protect the harbor are much less noticed. The original breakwaters nearly two centuries ago created the harbor and protected the end of the Erie Canal. Today, mostly they sit there, clearly visible in winter when massive winds show up as foamy water coming over the top.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Lex Barker said the South Breakwater is a very unique section because of the soils. The lake bed there is very soft and it creates an issue and allows for more damage than other sections. Barker said much of the 1,000' breakwater needed an expert look.

Credit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The site work started is expected to be completed in 2020.

"Damage caused us to do a little bit more research, because this happened a few different times, and so what we're doing now is unique for breakwater work along the Great Lakes," Barker said. "We're creating a stability berm, which is essentially larger stone, and it's going to cover a larger footprint, to ensure in the future we don't have the damage that we've had in the past."

Some might think of what is being installed to protect the breakwater as boulders, since they are in the 12-16-ton range, necessary when the winds of winter come storming off Lake Erie. Barker said the year-long project will install protective stone on the lake side of the breakwater, with 625' of the 1,000' wall getting special protection.

Credit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The repair area is shown on this map of Buffalo's harbor.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.