Making Waterfront Harwich More Accessible and Visitor-Friendly
Just in time for the boating season, the Town of Harwich has completed a harbor improvement project which brought Saquatucket Harbor facilities up-to-date, making waterfront Harwich more accessible and visitor-friendly. Coastal Engineering Co. provided structural engineering services for the project.
The landside phase of the improvements included design and construction of a new harbormaster’s office, a garage/maintenance building, a snack shack, and artist shanties. Additionally, the project included an ADA-compliant boardwalk structure running parallel to the shoreline.
The structures are located in an AE Flood Zone and are designed to conform to current FEMA flood code design requirements, with the ground floor levels built above the designated Design Flood Elevation (DFE). The harbormaster building is elevated on a traditional timber pile foundation, whereas the garage/maintenance building is constructed on a helical pile and concrete grade beam system. Both buildings are designed to meet the loading criteria for structures located in hurricane prone areas.
