Westport Island selectmen spent much of their time Monday evening, April 1 discussing the damaged to a crib plank on the Back River Jetty and how best to resolve the problem.

About three weeks ago, a large crack was discovered in a log at crib #6; a wedge system has been installed to stabilize the crib until a permanent fix can be put into place.

It is unclear exactly what caused the crack. Since the jetty is less than a year old, selectmen wanted to ensure that erosion or concrete curing didn’t lead to the problem, which could cause more problems in the future.

Therefore, they had an inspection of the crib by representatives Steve DeWick from Pine Tree Engineering and Matt Burgoin from Precast Concrete Products of Maine.

The inspection determined there was no problem with the concrete. The corrective action to fix the damaged crib was recommended in the inspection report. The selectmen will put that work out to bid in a few weeks.

The inspection did discover several loose nuts on the underside of the top center log, which secures the deck to the cribs. According to DeWick, this issue should be covered by the one-year correction period by the contractor that built the jetty, Chesterfield Associates.

The Certificate of Substantial Completion’s one-year correction period will expire on April 10. Since E. Davies Allan, the owner of Chesterfield Associates, is currently on a job out-of-state, selectmen requested that the correction period be extended, as well as the performance bond, until the condition of the jetty has determined.

Westport Island was awarded a $104,500 Small Harbor Improvement Program (SHIP) grant from the Maine Dept. of Transportation for the project in 2010to build the 155x6-foot jetty alongside the landing.

According to town officials, the jetty provides enhanced protection and opportunities for recreational use on the recently completed Wright Landing.

Charlotte Boynton can be reached at 207-844-4632 or cboynton@wiscassetnewspaper.com.