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The first seawall face panels are installed south of Colman Dock

Seawall

The new seawall face is lowered into place with a crane and secured to the concrete support slab.

On October 4, the Elliott Bay Seawall Project installed the first segment of the new seawall face. The individual panels were lifted into place with a crane in a similar manner to how the original seawall was constructed. Because the activity is tidally influenced, this work was completed in the early morning hours while the tide was at its lowest.

The new face of the seawall will be 10 to 15 feet farther inland than the old seawall face. This extra room will provide space for habitat features, including marine mattresses that provide shallow habitat for marine life as they travel along the seawall, and glass blocks in the overhanging sidewalk that allow light to pass through to the water below. The face of the new seawall is textured to provide a surface for algae and other marine organisms to attach – a great source of food for migrating salmon.

The new wall is made up of eight foot wide panels that each weigh approximately 18,000 pounds. In the past two weeks, 160 feet of new seawall has been installed south of Colman Dock. To see how the activity was completed, check out the latest snapshot video.

For more information about seawall construction, visit the Seawall Project website. If you have questions, email the Seawall Project (seawall@waterfrontseattle.org) or call the 24-hour hotline (206.618.8584).