Officials celebrate completion of Oswego’s West Arrowhead Breakwater

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District and their partners celebrated the completion of a multi-year repair of Oswego’s West Arrowhead Breakwater and the start of construction on its Outer West Breakwater.

Repairs to the 2,700 feet of the West Arrowhead Breakwater were completed with multiple projects started in 2018 and finished in August 2025.

Breakwaters protect the Port of Oswego – the first U.S. port of call on the Great Lakes. The repairs are part of more than $82 million invested in the harbor’s breakwater over the last decade to ensure continued safe navigation for commercial and recreational vessels on the Great Lakes.

The foundation of the Outer West Breakwater has been significantly damaged by storms, wave action, and deterioration for more than 90 years.

Repairs to the 600 feet of the Outer West Breakwater began in August 2025 and are scheduled to be completed by winter 2026 under a $9.1 million contract to Michigan-based Great Lakes Dock and Materials.

The repair will consist of a rubble mound overlay on the western end of the breakwater.

Read the full press release about the Oswego Breakwater repairs.