Port gets grant for marina modernization project

By The Daily World • November 23, 2021 1:30 am

The Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) awarded the Port of Grays Harbor a $50,000 planning grant on Thursday, Nov. 18, to complete the Westport Marina Modernization Project Plan. The grant will be matched by $30,000 in Port funds.

The plan will build upon previous planning and study efforts of the marina to develop a modernized float design, layout, and configuration plan for the current and projected user base, asset consolidation and refurbishment, phased construction recommendations, and estimated costs.

“We are very grateful CERB chose to once again partner with the Port to ensure this important initial planning step is accomplished as a critical piece of the large Marina Modernization Project,” said Port of Grays Harbor Commissioner Tom Quigg.

“The Port recognizes the Marina Modernization Project will be incredibly large in both scope and investment, which is why this plan is so vital to helping us strategize as we look to leverage funding opportunities and minimize impacts to marina users as improvements are made.”

The Port of Grays Harbor’s Westport Marina is the hub of tribal, commercial, charter, and recreational fishing on Washington’s coast and has been for more than 60 years. Today, the activities at the Westport Marina and its uplands support nearly 2,300 jobs and over $227 million in business revenue every year in rural Southwest Washington.

Over the last decade, the Port, along with local and state partners, have invested more than $9 million to support and upgrade the critical aging infrastructure at the Westport Marina, including a rebuild of the bank line, breakwater stabilization and the dredging of the marina for the first time in 40 years. The time has now come to focus on the very large undertaking of replacing the marina’s float infrastructure.