The dock rocks no more

The dock at Lighthouse Marine Park was taken out of the water on July 25 after park employees noticed evidence that the structure was failing. Photo by Bennett Blaustein

The Lighthouse Marine Park dock has failed once again.

In a July 23 press release, the Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Department advised the dock would be removed during the week of July 23 because “multiple segments of the dock are displaying signs of metal fatigue and weld failure.” The dock is being removed as “a preventative measure” and to allow a “thorough conditions assessment,” according to the release.

There is no timeline for the dock’s reinstallation.

The current dock is only in its second year of service after a redesign and remanufacture in 2016 following a failure the year before.

In that instance, the dock was removed in July 2015 after only one month in service due to a “material failure” that was linked to faulty engineering. The county paid $27,000 for materials with the dock manufacturer Chinook Docks throwing in the labor, and the contractor HBHansen installing the upgraded dock for free.

The previous wooden dock lasted for 16 years before it was removed in 2009 due to its degrading condition. The park had no dock for six years until the current ill-fated “improved” metal dock was installed.

Mark Robbins, president of the Point Roberts Taxpayers Association, left a scathing comment on Nextdoor about the dock removal: “So, once again, no dock. Goes well with no wind shelters on the vastly reduced (but nicely repaired) boardwalk. The whale watching platform at Lighthouse Park is a distant memory (never so much as an announcement or explanation to the public regarding its removal (presumably for safety reasons).

All this brought to you by the county administration that failed utterly to embrace and seriously support the proposal and significant partial private funding for a proper lighthouse in Lighthouse Park.”