Port of Everett set to begin final phase of bulkhead work, wharf rebuild
Published 3:21 pm Wednesday, September 3, 2025
EVERETT — Construction workers will begin replacing an aging bulkhead on West Marine View Drive next week that will reduce a 200-foot section of southbound lanes from two to one and continue into next year, the Port of Everett announced Tuesday.
Oregon-based Bergerson Construction will complete the final phase of bulkhead replacement at the Port of Everett Marina and rebuild the wharf near Port Gardner Landing and the Grand Avenue Park Bridge. Work on the $6.75 million project is expected to be completed by May 2026. Public access will be rerouted and northbound lanes won’t be affected.
The wooden bulkhead, responsible for shoring up southbound Marine View Drive is nearly 80 years old and is at the end of its life, Port of Everett Executive Director Lisa Lefeber said Tuesday in a press release.
If the bulkhead is not replaced, it’s possible the southbound lanes could eventually end up covered in water, Lefeber had said in March.
The bulkhead acts as a retaining wall, stabilizing the soil under West Marine View Drive and helps to prevent shoreline erosion.
“It was build in the 1940s and is failing,” Lefeber earlier told The Daily Herald.
Workers will replace the final 165 lineal feet of bulkhead and will be made of steel, she said. This marks the last of the 2,900 total feet of marina bulkhead. Work to replace the marina bulkhead initially began in 2005 on the Central Marina.
The area by the construction is also by the wharf that holds the Music at the Marina summer concert series. Lefeber said the wharf will need to be demolished in order for construction crews to access the bulkhead.
But in its place, she said, a larger wharf will be designed to separate pedestrians from vehicles.
Lefeber said construction was timed to begin after Labor Day and before the start of the new concert series next summer.
Construction will also be costing the port more than anticipated.
On May 22, the port awarded Bergerson Construction, the $6.75 million contract. It had originally budgeted $4.4 million for the project based on a consultant engineer’s estimate back in 2024.
Port Commissioners rejected two bids of $5.7 and $5.9 million respectively back in January because they were above what the port budgeted.
The port was scheduled to receive $1.2 million from the State of Washington and $2.2 million from the Federal Highway Administration to defray the cost of the project.
Brandon Whitaker, a project manager for the port, said at the Aug. 20 port commissioner’s meeting that the port was able to get an additional $940,000 in federal funds which will help with the cost differences from the original projections.
Randy Diamond: 425-339-3097; randy.diamond@heraldnet.com
