The 2016 floods completely wiped-out Saxon Harbor. It was rebuilt in the years that followed to withstand that level of flooding, though some sections still need work.
Iron County Forest Administrator Eric Peterson says they’ve continued to lose another 10 to 15 feet of shoreline in the years since.
“The erosion effect there is threatening, or will be threatening, Harbor Drive very soon,” said Peterson.
The Saxon Harbor Lake Superior Shoreline Restoration Project is meant to halt that erosion.
The plan is to continue riprap west of the Saxon Harbor Facility along Harbor Drive to stabilize 500-feet of shoreline.
The $375,000 in federal direct congressional spending will cover 75% of the project. About $42,000 is coming from Wisconsin Coastal Management.
Remaining costs will be covered by Iron County, the Town of Saxon, or with in-kind work.
Peterson says they got the coastal management grant last year. They’ve been waiting to see what would happen with the direct congressional funding.
“Now that that has been finalized, I'll start working with Wisconsin Emergency Management and FEMA to get that federal funding process rolling,” said Peterson. “We should be in design and in planning, I'm hoping by like November we would have that, maybe December have that stuff wrapped up. Then construction would be next summer.”
Saxon Harbor is a 93-slip marina with 79 seasonal slips and 14 transient ones for boaters off Lake Superior.
It's also considered a harbor of refuge by the Army Corps of Engineers.
This means that it is open and available for boaters to get in off the lake in bad weather or an emergency.
