The Mount Desert Islander published an article March 4, 2026 about Southwest Harbor rebuilding their pier. Read the full article here. Photo and MD Islander article by Kip Wing.
Excerpt: SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Looking to safeguard the working waterfront against aging infrastructure and rising tides, the Harbor Committee has voted unanimously to pursue more than $2 million in grant funding to potentially rebuild the Manset Pier and construct a second pier near the parking lot.
The project, which will rely on funding from two grants, was researched and presented by Hancock County Planning Commission’s Regional Resilience Coordinator Janna Richards last December, and would prioritize a timber-framed reconstruction of the existing pier over a previously discussed concrete alternative and utilize congressionally delegated spending requests with a March 11 deadline to apply.
The first option, “Working Waterfront Infrastructure Fund,” would include repairs to the existing Manset Pier, which was repaired by community volunteers last summer after a king tide storm and a nor’easter wreaked havoc on the Maine coastline.