SANTA BARBARA — The long-awaited rebuilding of Marina One in Santa Barbara Harbor is under way. Shoreside utilities construction is nearing completion and new concrete floats are coming in March.

Photo by: Catherine French Makeover – Marina One in Santa Barbara is receiving long-awaited improvements in several phases to be completed over a 15-year period. Total cost is expected to run around $9 million, with much of the funding coming from a California Department of Boating and Waterways grant.

According to harbor facilities manager Karl Treiberg, the work to replace the aging 40-year old marina — starting with a new electrical delivery system — is nearly complete. The new transformer is installed, and all new conduits are in place.

“What we are working on now is the bulkhead drilling, coring through the concrete and riprap (the harbor surround),” he said.

Treiberg explained that five 6-inch holes have to be drilled to accept the submarine cable that will service the docks (and, ultimately, the slip holders) to provide improved electrical support to handle the increased demands of today’s boats.

“The drilling takes about four hours per hole. And, most of the material being drilled through was quarried at Fry’s Harbor on Santa Cruz Island and transported here many years ago to create the harbor we have today,” Treiberg said.

He expects to see the first of the new concrete floats arriving for installation at the marina by March. “Bellingham Marine will begin casting the new floats (docks) at their Dixon, Calif. facility (near Sacramento) in mid-February, with delivery to the harbor to begin about five weeks later.

The first and most critical part of the dock installation includes the replacement of the 1,200-linear-foot head walkway that provides entrance to and exit from 16 finger/piers and the slip holder/guest restrooms and shower facilities. Once this phase is complete, work to replace the first five finger piers — O, P, L, M and N — will begin.

“We notified the tenants in advance about the construction work,” Treiberg said. “Due to weather and some other things, we have had a few delays.

“But even though construction has affected some of the commercial parking area, everyone has been coping pretty well. There is little we can do to mitigate construction noise and some of the disruption, and we appreciate everyone’s patience through this process,” Treiberg said.

The entire project is planned for completion in several phases and is expected to take about 15 years to finish, at an estimated cost of at least $9 million. Much of the funding is coming from a grant through the California Department of Boating and Waterways.

The balance of funding to support the project will come from the city of Santa Barbara’s capital improvement program. And, according to Treiberg, no special assessments or slip fee increases are planned to support the project.