WESTFIELD, N.Y. -- U.S. Congressman Tom Reed recently announced an additional $150,000 from the Appropriations Committee toward the completion of the costly breakwall project. The Army Corps of Engineers was hard at work Thursday repairing a section of it at the Barcelona Harbor in Westfield.
The wall was damaged during a 2015 storm that allowed water, silt and debris into the harbor. Town leaders say it was the only harbor in the Great Lakes to be funded by Congress, and is financially important to the entire region.
Harbor leaders say the repair also preserves the area's tourism industry. In addition to those who visit the Light House and rent out docks, the harbor sells 100 season passes, and 2,000 day passes a year.
"This is great news to us. It protects our harbor from major damage, because Lake Erie can really be fierce at times," said Kelly Brown, Barcelona Harbor master.
"We have families who are commercial fisherman, we have charter fisherman, we have other businesses in the area that depend upon the lake so it makes a big difference economically to all of us in the area," said Martha Bills, (R) Westfield town supervisor.
The town hopes the repair will be completed by mid-June. The harbor opens to the public on Monday.