USACE begins channel improvements in Manistee

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, began significant maintenance to the Manistee Harbor federal channel yesterday.

The Corps of Engineers will place about 3,000 tons of stone to reduce wave energy and overtopping, as well as install new timber fenders along 1,800 feet of the North Revetment, near the U.S. Coast Guard Station Manistee. The work is expected to take about two months.

Manistee Harbor serves as a critical, deep-draft commercial shipping harbor and harbor of refuge for recreational boaters on Lake Michigan.

“Improving resiliency in Manistee has been a Corps of Engineers focus for the past several years, including annual dredging projects and now infrastructure maintenance,” said Liz Wilkinson, Operations manager for the Grand Haven Area Office. “Hardening structures with major stonework will protect the harbor for years to come and lowers its risk from unpredictable Great Lakes weather events.”

The improvements total about $1.98 million in funding from the Fiscal Year 2025 President’s Budget and Work Plan.