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Banner file photo
The Pier Corp. is looking for a way to protect the finger piers from storm damage like that pictured above.
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Pier Corp. ponders barges to protect docks
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — Hoping to avoid further storm damage to the floating docks at MacMillan Pier, the Provincetown Public Pier Corp. is considering using barges anchored in the harbor to help reduce wave swells.
The idea would be to have multiple barges anchored between Johnson Street and the east end of the harbor breakwater to tame waves during nor’easters, when the direction of the wind allows large waves to form that slam into the floating docks on the east side of the pier. The movable barges would then be towed back to moorings on MacMillan Pier when the storm passed.
“The nice thing about the concept of a barge is we can move them out of the area. So in the summer, [waterfront] property owners don’t have to look at them,” said Provincetown Harbormaster Rex McKinsey.
Ideally, McKinsey said he would like to have four or five barges, which would be moored to the pier and used as dock space for transient commercial boats during the summer. However, Pier Corp. member George Hitchcock said finding a suitable used barge — which can cost $15-20,000 each — has been difficult.
“The Navy had one. The state had another. But they were in such bad shape it wouldn’t have been worth it,” he said.
The floating docks on the east side of MacMillan Pier have been battered by storms since they were installed without a wave attenuator or suppressor in 2003. As a result, the Pier Corp. has had to repeatedly repair the docks, putting unanticipated pressure on its budget.
“There’s no secret to anyone that there is a design flaw that affects the floating docks. We’ve had to use capital improvement money intended for maintenance and improvement rather than the repair of newly constructed floating docks to remedy the situation,” Lee Ash, Pier Corp. member, said.
While the board is considering several alternatives to help suppress waves during a nor’easter, the use of barges is gathering support. Len Clingham, Pier Corp. chair, said that in addition to protecting the floating docks and providing extra dockage space, a barge could be used for the town’s July 4th fireworks display, saving the town approximately $8,000 in barge rental fees. The cost of purchasing one or more barges, however, is a consideration.
“We recognize we have a problem. We also know we can’t go back to Town Meeting and ask for more money,” he said.
McKinsey said he will be looking for grants to help foot the bill for the barges or any other potential wave suppression system. Other than rebuilding the floating docks, the only other option the Pier Corp. has explored has been a submersible wave attenuator, which would lie deflated at the bottom of the harbor until a storm, when it would be inflated by an air compressor in the harbormaster’s office, rising above the surface to block waves. While innovative, the Pier Corp. is balking at the $1 million price tag.
“It’s still in the planning phases. We have to find grantors and have to talk to engineers and walk through ideas with the public,” McKinsey said.
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
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