Next summer the Navy will begin work on demolishing a finger pier on the Seaplane Base and building a new breakwater in Crescent Harbor.

The aging pier was built in 1943 when the base was established and has acted as a breakwater to the fuel loading station to the west, according to base spokesman Mike Welding.

Work will begin in June, 2015, and is expected to be completed by spring of 2016, Welding said.

The $9 million project will demolish the 536-foot by 50-foot finger pier and construct a 400-foot by 8-foot breakwater supported by 90 pre-cast concrete piles.

The placement of the breakwater was selected because it avoids known eelgrass, provides better protection over most wave climate scenarios and a larger area of protection for nearshore marine habitat, according to Navy documents.

The project also includes the dredging of a 3.9-acre area inside Crescent Harbor and replaces the six existing anchor buoys with helical buoys.

The purpose of the proposed action is to improve safe, reliable access to the existing Seaplane Base fuel pier. It is needed to protect fuel transfer operations at the fuel pier during severe weather or low tides, and enable fuel pier vessels with drafts of up to 16 feet.

The fuel pier receives 40 barge deliveries of jet fuel per year, according to Navy documents.

An environmental assessment was completed for the project in August. The public comment period for the draft EA was held July 3 through Aug. 9.

No public comments were received.

The EA documents are available at the following website through Nov. 10: http://go.usa.gov/kQ6e.