The Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has offered a “We will rock you” Facebook update on the South Jetty:

“The primary stone staging area at the mouth of the Columbia River South Jetty is nearly full of approximately 115,000 tons of armour stone ready for placement, which means the jetty is ready (ready, Freddie) to be rocked!” Technically, it will actually be rehabilitated.

“A jetty rehabilitation, as opposed to a repair, involves an end-to-end treatment, which is historically rare, and requires a massive amount of armour stone. This is likely the largest quantity of armour stone ever stored at this site (pictured), or any Portland District jetty. It may also be the largest stone procurement effort on any of our jetties, or any jetty in the country, for that matter.”

A commenter wanted to know where all the stones came from. Some are from north-central Washington, brought in by truck; more is mined on the northern and southern Oregon coasts, where it’s easier for oceangoing barges to bring the stones to the jetty area.

“We are currently in a unique phase of this rehab project, which began in 2020,” the post continued, “where we’ve had enough time to procure this huge stone quantity, and (can) outpace the stone placement rate.” Fingers crossed, they expect to place the last stone in fall 2025.