If a driver in Astoria gets a flat tire, they can find solace in the fact that they won’t need to hitchhike to Seattle to get it fixed.

Large boats don’t have that luxury.

When harsh weather damages a Columbia River Bar Pilots boat, for example, there isn’t a repair shop on the shore. The service instead hauls the pilot boat onto another boat, which carries it to the Puget Sound for repairs.

In recent years, federal regulations for boat inspections have also tightened. Boats now must be taken out of the water every 2 1/2 years to be evaluated. Such inspections require special equipment, but after a dozen shipyards in the Pacific Northwest closed in the past two decades, there are few places for operators to go.

Those are the two main factors that Hyak Maritime CEO Robert Dorn says demonstrate the need for a $21 million, publicly funded boat lift at Tongue Point.

“We have many coastal tugs and barges, many big commercial fishing boats, but very limited options of places to go. We’ve seen this coming over 20 years, and now it’s in crisis mode. It’s a flat-out crisis and that’s what I’m trying to convey with my ask to the state of Oregon for a grant,” he said.

Dorn has applied for nearly $14 million from Connect Oregon, the state’s funding program for nonhighway transportation projects. His application was backed by 20 letters of support from boat operators throughout the West Coast, state Rep. Suzanne Weber, former state Sen. Betsy Johnson, the Port of Astoria and other stakeholders.

“Everyone I asked — up and down the coast, up and down the river — offered a letter of support: ‘Yes, this is critical, we need someone to do that. Because we’re all in line, hoping nothing breaks before we get into our dry-dock slot in Portland or Seattle. Or more and more, up in Vancouver, B.C.

“We’re leaving the country to go fix our boats, which is kind of preposterous,’” he said.

Alternative method

The common technique to get boats out of the water for inspections is dry-docking, which involves draining the water from a section of the port. Dorn said that the process is slow, outdated and ecologically damaging.

The alternative method that Hyak has presented is a travel lift, which places slings underneath a ship to hoist it from the water, and wheels to take it to an on-site inspection and repair area.

There are two operational travel lifts nearby, in Newport and Reedsport, that can lift up to 750 tons.

Hyak hopes to bring in larger boats in need of service by building a lift that can hoist up to 1,500 tons.

The projected costs include the lift’s design and build by Bergerson Construction, along with associated expenses, including upgrading the pavement at Tongue Point so it can bear greater loads.

The cost is around $21 million. Dorn is seeking a $13.9 million grant from Connect Oregon.

Hyak intends to cover some of the remaining costs with additional public funds: $350,000 from the Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund and $7 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Hyak, WCT Marine & Construction and Bergerson Construction will also be contributing construction costs.

Dorn said public funding is needed to get the project going and to keep operating costs low for boat operators.

“The infrastructure and this giant travel lift was about $22 million,” Dorn said. “Without public support, I will never make a return on that. I would have to charge people enormous amounts of money to come in because these are expensive machines to maintain.”

The lift is expected to be operational for over 50 years, given regular maintenance from Hyak.

Dorn said the return to the community will be the creation of 100 new jobs at WCT Marine & Construction and subcontractors, paying an annual average salary of $70,000 a year. At the time of the application, WCT had 15 full-time employees.

“The metric is job creation,” Dorn said. “We anticipate it would have $7 million a year immediately here in salaries and wages, and that creates a huge tax benefit to everybody.”

‘Skilled blue-collar jobs’

Mayor Bruce Jones, who wrote a letter of support for the project, said the jobs in the maritime sector would be a beneficial counterbalance to the increasing importance of tourism-related jobs locally.

“(They are) skilled blue-collar jobs that pay good money, living wage jobs, and also are tied directly to the maritime heritage of Astoria,” he said. “To me, it’s just probably the most exciting potential economic development in the community for many, many years.”

The mayor said additional benefits would come from the site’s relationship with the Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station — Clatsop Community College’s maritime career training program, as well as Tongue Point Job Corps Center’s seaman program.

In October, the Port’s letter of support stated that the project would be mutually beneficial.

“Such capacity will complement the Port’s existing capability to lift out smaller vessels for routine maintenance and minor repair (and with the future expansion of the boatyard, the Port will be able to lift out heavier vessels for maintenance and minor repair, thereby amplifying the complementary effect),” wrote Will Isom, the Port’s executive director.

Hyak believes it will be the first all-electric, zero-emission mobile lift in the country. The project plans include updated filtration systems to prevent waste and particles from entering the river.

Along with funding applications, Hyak has begun the permit process for the project, including for environmental impact.

Pending permit and grant approval, the project is projected to be completed by the spring of 2024.