From The Daily Astorian:

The Port of Astoria will spend nearly $80,000 over the next few months replacing fender pilings on the west side of Pier 1 in a stopgap measure to keep its lucrative log-export dock operating.

All 60 of the wooden pilings on the 380 feet of Pier 1’s western face, where longshoremen load log ships for Astoria Forest Products, are in need of replacement, according to a report to the Port Commission Tuesday. The $78,580 approved by the commission would replace 24 pilings, evenly spaced in groups of four across the dock.

The wooden pilings will keep the dock open while the Port develops a long-term, multiphase plan to install more durable steel pilings sheathed in polyurethane. McGrath estimated the cost of the project at $750,000 to $1 million for the entire dock, saying the process would be spread out over hopefully no more than three years.

“There have been comments from ships’ captains saying, ‘Hey, that dock does not look like it’s going to support us,’” Matt McGrath, the Port’s director of operations, said. “Pier 1 is our golden goose. That’s where we get 20 to 30 percent of our (operating) revenues, so we have to take care of it. We’ve just not done that previously.”

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