La Conner boardwalk progress continues

The La Conner boardwalk project keeps moving right along, and should, if all goes well, be complete by the end of the year, according to Town Administrator John Doyle.

Construction on the final section of the boardwalk, which will extend from the old Palmer’s restaurant to the south side of Calico Cupboard, is scheduled to begin at the end of August or beginning of September. The previous section, which was done in two phases and finished last year, stretches from Gilkey Square to the Lighthouse building.

The completion of the new section will mean the completion of the boardwalk in the “downtown commercial corridor,” said Doyle. In total, the boardwalk will run from the Lime Dock down to Calico Cupboard, giving tourists a chance to walk along the water for the entire length of the commercial district. The stretch of boardwalk from the Lime Dock to Gilkey Square was privately built but is open to the public.

Before the boardwalk con-struction could resume, the contractor had to “relocate boats and docks” and do test pile driving to determine the size and the amount of piles to be ordered so as to have a safe amount of stability and resistance. The contractor is currently ready to order the materials.

“We’re hoping to be done by the end of the year, but at the latest, we’ll be done by March,” said Doyle. “The other section took two phases and took about a year. This one will go faster.”

“We’re on schedule,” said La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes. He explained that the boardwalk work has to be done in the “fish window” — meaning in between the salmon migration seasons — so that no salmon will be harmed by the construction.

Doyle said that the construction of the boardwalk is “going well,” apart from a few minor issues.

The project hit a slight snag because some of the decking material on a section of the boardwalk finished in December must be replaced.

Mayor Ramon Hayes said the material used for a portion of the decking turned out not to be up to the town’s standard and is believed to have the potential to develop cracks over time. Rather than let problems develop, “we want to nip it in the bud,” Hayes said.

The manufacturer has agreed to replace the substandard decking with what Hayes called a “stronger material that should last 15 to 20 years.”

Adding future additional phases to the boardwalk — stretching it to Pioneer Park on the south side and to The Port of Skagit on the north — are being discussed.

If the boardwalk is extended, the proposed sections would be more over the ground and less over the water, unlike the current boardwalk, which runs along the Swinomish Channel.

Funding for the boardwalk came from the Washington State Legislature.