City of Alpena looking for avenues to fund pier repairs
ALPENA, Mich. — With lower water levels expected for Lake Huron this season, the City of Alpena decided it was time for improvements to the Blair Street Pier.
High water levels over the last few years have caused damages to the pier, leaving it inaccessible to the public.
“It was the high water, and then it freezing during the winter,” Assistant City Engineer Steve Shultz said. “All the ice moving around did the damage.” Now that water levels are expected to be lower this year, the city decided it was an appropriate time for renovations.
“They are saying that the water elevations will be lower this summer than it was last summer,” Shultz said. “Less elevation on that ice, less moving around and destruction that may occur- we think at this point, its worth fixing. We don’t think we’ll have to be back in.”
City engineers have estimated the cost to be under $70,000. However, the project wasn’t in the budget for this year– so the engineering department is looking for funding while preparing bids for the repairs.
“It’s something that we talked with council on, and they do want to get it fixed that’s obvious,” Shultz said. “They want us to go ahead and get it bid out but they do also want us to look for different funding, avenues to see if we can get some grants somewhere.”
Shultz told WBKB it is a project that the city wants to complete by the end of the year. Since many construction companies have contracts for the summer already, they may not be able to complete the repairs for summer. Both the council and engineers want it completed as soon as they can.
