WAVELAND, MS (WLOX) -
The Waveland Board of Aldermen has taken the first steps to repair the city's veterans monument and municipal pier. Both were damaged by Hurricane Isaac.
The city leaders have hired an engineering company to oversee the work. The goal is to reopen both before the end of summer.
The city's veterans monument sits prominently on the beach in Waveland. The spot serves as a backdrop for many American Legion events.
"It's certainly served a good purpose in its time. It certainly honors the people who went and fought for our country. And we don't want to forget them, so we want to get this built back so they can continue using it," said Waveland Mayor David Garcia.
Hurricane Isaac brought a battle with the elements.
"When you get a nine, ten foot storm surge, it's kind of the worse conditions you can see. You've got waves crashing down on it, right on top of it," explained Geoffrey Clemens with Compton Engineering, the company overseeing the repair work.
Clemens said erosion caused most of the damage here.
"When that foundation underneath it starts getting undermined by that wave action, everything just starts breaking apart, and you end up with the damage you see here. "
The concrete pit where American flags are burned when retired was nearly swallowed by the sea. The structure of the memorial's water fountain faired okay, but will need work.
Clemens said, "Any of the features with it the electrical, pumps, it was all damaged."
Once the memorial is restored, the challenge will be to add features to protect it from future storms.
"By putting a break water around it with some sheet pilings and making it a little bit more handicapped accessible for our veterans who are getting a little bit older today and in wheelchairs. And adding a place of each side for benches so people will be able to sit when they have a veterans function out here," said Mayor Garcia.
The engineering company will do a thorough damage assessment at the Municipal Pier and to the Veterans Monument after that the work will go out for bid. The repairs work is expected to start in late spring.
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