Work on the breakwater project at Point Hudson must go gently into that good night.

To get in during low tide to complete excavation near the shore, work will take place from 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 through Saturday, Oct. 29, weather permitting.

Port of Port Townsend officials announced the night work on Monday, and noted there may be minor noise and light disturbances associated with the work.

So far, contractors have been able to keep quiet during their daylight work. And there’s been no rage, rage against the dying of the light.

“I can’t believe how quiet they are! I had lunch out there today and it’s so quiet,” Port Commissioner Pam Petranek noted at a recent port commission meeting.

“That’s kind of been a general theme for the project. The noise hasn’t been as bad as everybody was envisioning, so I’m so thankful for that,” agreed Matt Klontz, capitol projects director and engineer for the port.

The work on the jetties has stayed on schedule.

But beyond the quiet victory, the piles will soon be stealing the show.

Klontz told the board during its meeting Oct. 12 that the building materials were on their way north.

“The steel pile is slated to arrive at Puyallup on Sunday, a full seven or eight days ahead of schedule,” Klontz said.

Klontz said the Orion Marine contractors on site have managed to stay ahead of schedule, which will now come in handy.

“It may actually get even more quiet down here because the contractor may have to send their crew down to their yard in Tacoma and load up the barge with the pile. They’re a little short-handed because this time of year people go hunting,” he added.

“Ah, October!” exclaimed Eron Berg, the port’s executive director.

“Regardless, though,” Klontz continued, “it’s great the pile’s here and it’s going to be on site soon.”

The next step for the project is to prepare the site for piling to go into place.

“The next thing we’ll see them do is construct the template and that’s going to be kind of the frame that they’re going to use for installing piles,” Klontz said.

“When we see the template going in, that’s an indication that the steel pile is on the way,” he added.

A member of the public in attendance at the meeting asked what the process would look like as the jetty took form.

Piles will be put in place, then rocks, then bracing.

“Then they’ll build out more pile, back fill with rock, so it’s going to be kind of sequential,” Klontz explained.

In order to keep things straight, however, the template is key, he said.

“It’s fascinating how these things get built. There’s actually the structure that gets built before the structure gets built,” he said.

The existing timber-and-riprap jetty was first completed in 1936, and successive repairs were made in 1969 and 1996.

“This jetty project was a long time coming,” Petranek said. “I’m thinking of the studies, 2015? Before that, even?”

Deputy director Eric Toews, the port’s longest serving port employee in attendance, had the numbers.

“2014 was the initial commission assessment. The actual funding agreement was 2015,” Toews said.

A large portion of the $16.2 million funding secured for the project was obtained from the federal government, in large part thanks to Senator U.S. Maria Cantwell, who recently visited the construction site.

“It was just fun showing the project off to a United States senator,” Klontz recalled.

“This went sideways many times before we got it right with our community and with the funding,” Petranek added. “We do go sideways a lot, but I think in the end we get to celebrate.”

Anyone who has concerns about the night work can contact the port at 360-620-0079.