Lakeshore is looking at about a $900,000 price tag to extend the breakwall 125 metres at Lakeview Park West Beach, near Belle River Marina.
"Certainly, it's a little on the high side," says Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain, stressing the move is needed for safety concerns. "We have a number of swimmers; we put a lot of big dollars into the park out there, into the beach. The numbers are there now. We've got to ensure the safety of those people."
In addition to providing a separation between swimmers and boaters, the breakwall extension would help prevent potential flooding at the mouth of the Belle River as well as improve near shore water quality.
"If the wind is in the right direction it [debris] gets deposited on the beach there and our beach is closed. This [the breakwall extension] will carry that out into Lake St. Clair and hopefully alleviate some of that problem," says Bain.
The project could top the $1-million mark if council decides to move forward with a proposal to have the breakwall serve double duty as a pedestrian boardwalk.
Bain hopes to see construction begin in a year or so, but says the municipality has found the Ministry of Natural Resources uncooperative on the project.
