Work on Cape Lisburne seawall wraps up

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of a very important seawall reconstruction scheme took place on September 14 at Cape Lisburne, USACE’s Alaska District reports.

The seawall serves as a buffer of protection between the Chukchi Sea and the runway at a remote radar site near Point Hope.

Lt. Col. Penny Bloedel, deputy district commander of USACE’s Alaska District, and Col. Paul Cornwall, commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center, recently recognized the completion of this challenging seawall reconstruction project.

This facility is part of an early warning system that provides aerospace surveillance to detect potential threats to North America.

The original seawall was constructed in 1972, but severe storms eroded the structure and pushed waves onto the airstrip in 2012 and 2013.

To allow for continued use of the runway, the seawall needed to be rebuilt. Work began in 2016 and the final rock was placed on August 12.

The new seawall is designed to withstand a 50-year storm, said USACE.

Construction of the $48 million project lasted five work seasons as the team faced harsh environmental conditions and overcame numerous logistical hurdles.