Washington State's Long Beach Boardwal k...Tourist Attraction And Environmental Goup

I ONG Beach, Washington. boasts b the first ocean-beach boardwalk in the Pacific Northwest and sets environmental precedents. The boardwalk is the result ofcareful design, engineering, and construction guaranteed to protect the fragile dunes and dunegrass boarding the picturesque shore. The boardwalk weaves in and out for 2,300 ft., following the natural contours of the precious dunes. Although it tcrok just three months to construct, the Long Beach Boardwalk was five years in the planning, according to Nabiel Shaw, Project Coordinator.

Aptly named, Long Beachlays claim to the world's second longest white sand beach, 28 miles in length, and is located on the southwest corner of the Long Beach Peninsula where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.

Aesthetically pleasing, the Long Beach Boardwalk immediately gamered the unabashed support of townspeople, tourists, and environmentalists alike. This was an interesting occurrence, as the Pacific Northwest is perhaps among the most sensitive of areas to the compatibility of the environment and the ecosystems, according to Dick Theil of Gray & Osborne, Inc., Seattle and Yakima, WA, Consulting Engineers for the project.

"This unusual and automatic acceotance of the boardwalk by the public was a most interesting part of the project," Theil said. "Initially there were fears that the boardwalk would be too imposing and interfere with the skyline. However, the feedback was positive after people saw the boardwalk was not obtrusive, was rugged looking, and fit right into the environment."

Theil said the wood chosen for the project was Douglas fir and the wood preservative treatment recommended by Gray & Osborne was Chemonite@ (ACZA - ammoniacal copper zinc arsenate).

"We specifically mentioned Chemonite because we were lookingfor a 50+ year life for the boardwalk," Theil said. "This is a particularly corrosive environment with a lot of salt water, sand and salty winds. Generally we would not specify a tradename but in this case we did. Chemonite is pretty popular here in the Pacific Northwest."

The Chemonite-treated lumber was supplied by the Wyckoff Company, Seattle, WA, to the building contractor, Quigg Brothers McDonald, Inc. of Aberdeen, WA.