Last month, work was completed on a much-needed fix to the Mission Bay channel jetty. The area (south of Mission Beach/just north of Dog Beach) once hazardous to local boaters was restored in the first of two projects involving the waterway linking Mission Bay to the ocean. “The importance of that repair really can’t be overstated,” said Alex Roth, spokesman for San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders. “This was an enormous hazard to boats of all shapes and sizes coming in and out of the mouth of that jetty. It was extraordinarily dangerous.” Construction began last October to repair the last 250 feet of the jetty that was previously destroyed by storms. Before the restoration, the underwater portion of the jetty posed a problem for local boats. “Rather than being a normal jetty, that final 250 feet was all submerged and it created a really nasty hazard for boats,” Roth said. The jetty restoration cost an estimated $2.3 million, which Roth said was completely paid for by federal stimulus money. In addition to the restoration, a new foghorn and light were installed at the end of the jetty. “Getting in and out of that channel is infinitely safer,” Roth said. “It was a life-endangering situation out there that has now been fixed.” The most emblematic element of the project was the large crane that sat in the middle of the channel during construction. Roth said the crane was necessary to move the large boulders that made up the jetty. “The construction was logistically complicated,” Roth said. “You had to deal with occasionally very rough seas, deal with these extraordinarily massive boulders.” The next project involves dredging Mission Bay channel — pumping out sand and silt from the floor to make it deeper. Roth said the channel’s current depth allows waves to break inside it, which can make it too rough for boats. “On a rough day, boats can capsize trying to get in and out of that channel,” Roth said. Dredging of the channel is slated to begin in September and last approximately 45 days.