Cape Horn beach work finishes 13 days early

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed dredged material placement at Cape Horn east of Cathlamet on October 7.

Cape Horn residents and officials from the Corps and Wahkiakum County gathered at Cape Horn Oct. 9 to celebrate.

According to a Corps news release, the project was designed to provide beach nourishment to an approximately 2500 foot stretch of shoreline on the Washington side of the Columbia River.

The Port of Portland's Dredge Oregon began work on Sept. 25 and completed placement 13 days ahead of the anticipated completion date of Oct. 20, the Corps reported.

"It's great to see the completed Cape Horn sand placement project," said Chuck Beyer, Wahkiakum County's public works director. "There were many steps in the process, but I'm happy that through our partnership with the Corps we've been able to deliver this to our community members."

Corps staff said there were three critical steps necessary to place the material on private property. These steps included a Memorandum of Agreement between the Corps and Wahkiakum County, signed right-of-entry agreements between the Corps and private landowners and finally, approved permitting from state and federal agencies.

"Making this happen took coordination at many levels," said Karla Ellis, Portland District's chief of waterways maintenance. "We appreciate the cooperation we received from the individual landowners, Wahkiakum County and our many state and federal partners."