Two massive cranes floating on barges have dominated the skyline along Nantucket’s waterfront for several months now.
They are on the island to complete the second phase of the $20 million rehabilitation of Old South Wharf, including replacing the entire bulkhead along the south side of the wharf, as well as all of the finger piers, docks and pilings.
Over the past few weeks, the crews from Mohawk Northeast, Inc. have been driving sheet steel into the harbor floor to form the wall of the new bulkhead. On Tuesday they were driving tiebacks 80 feet deep into the ground beneath the water to reinforce the south side of the sheet wall. On the east side of the wharf, the construction crews were installing raker piles rather than tiebacks due to the size of the rig.
The project was much needed, according to Christina Martin, director of marine operations for the Nantucket Boat Basin, as the existing bulkhead was constructed more than 50 years ago in 1968.
The first phase of the project along the northern side of the wharf was completed last offseason. Now the crews from Mohawk Northeast, Inc. are back, and with more room to operate on the south side of the wharf, they have brought four barges with them from their headquarters in Connecticut. The barges are tied together in between Old South Wharf and Commercial Wharf, a stone’s throw from the Anglers’ Club, forming a sort of floating construction village where Mohawk Northeast’s 14 workers have been hard at work.
The crews are staying on the island during the project, with some being put up in the summer home of Mohawk’s owner, located in Tom Nevers, and the rest of the crew residing in Nantucket Boat Basin housing units.
Martin said there had been a lot of discussion with the engineering team regarding raising the bulkhead and building with coastal resiliency in mind. The new bulkhead and finger piers will be raised up slightly higher, she said, but no more because there would have to be coordination with all the surrounding property owners to do the same in coordination.
