West Pier Repair

Repairs to 1,100 feet of the West Pier were completed with multiple projects started in 2021 and completed in June 2025. The most recent project focused on the south reach of the pier. The repair included installation of steel sheet pile with voids filled between the existing seawall and new sheet pile, as well as grading, hydroseeding, and tree planting in the adjacent Wakefield Metropark.

Previous repairs to the West Pier from the beach to the north wrap included removing stone that had settled on the lake side of the pier, placing new granular material, and resetting the cap stones to their initial elevations.

East Pier Repair

Repairs to the 600 feet of the East Pier are scheduled to take place from July 7 through January 2026 under a $6.5 million awarded to Michigan-based Great Lakes Dock and Materials, L.L.C., located in September 2024. The repair will include removal of existing stone on both the beach side and channel sides of the pier; installation of sheet pile, tie rods, walers; backfilling with granular material; and reusing the removed stone to create a fresh cap on the top of the pier. The site will be restored to its original condition following construction.

A repair to 200 feet of the northern end of the East Pier was completed in 2021 with more than 2,000 tons of stone and concrete installed.

Repairs to Vermilion's piers are 100% federally funded under operations and maintenance.

About Vermilion Harbor

Vermilion Harbor is in Erie County, Ohio, on the south shore of Lake Erie at the mouth of the Vermilion River, about 37 miles west of Cleveland and 21 miles east of Sandusky. Vermilion Harbor is a small-craft harbor originally authorized by the River & Harbor Act and constructed in 1836 by the federal government for commercial purposes. Vermilion Harbor is comprised of a channel approach from the lake and the lower 3,600 feet of the Vermilion River. Protective structures consist of east and west laid up stone over timber crib piers with a total length of 1,792 feet and a cellular steel sheet pile detached breakwater with a length of 864 feet. Boating trip and annual craft spending at Vermilion Harbor generates an estimated $6.9 million in revenues to accommodations, restaurants, retail, boat repair, and other services and industries and supports more than 44 full-time equivalent jobs, $3.3 million in labor income, $4.4 million in the gross regional product, and $7.3 million in economic output in the local impact area.

Photo and video of the project site and the completion event are available at: www.flickr.com/photos/buffalousace/albums/72157720138112505/

The Buffalo District delivers world class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war.

For 250 years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been at the forefront of the nation's engineering excellence, responding when called. From constructing fortifications during the Revolutionary War, to building the infrastructure that saw America's strength grow militarily and economically, USACE's mission has always been to deliver engineering solutions for our nation's toughest challenges. Learn more about the USACE 250th anniversary at www.usace.army.mil/Home/250th

Source: U.S.Army