Skip to content
Logo
CALL (253) 262-1661
  • Products
  • Services
    • Bagged Products
    • Delivery
    • Waste Disposal
    • Gift Cards
  • Projects
  • About
    • Our Company
    • Our Sales Team
    • Our Opportunities
  • Blog
CONTACT US
  • Contact Us
  • Products
  • Services
    • Bagged Products
    • Delivery
    • Waste Disposal
    • Gift Cards
  • Projects
  • About
    • Our Company
    • Our Sales Team
    • Our Opportunities
  • Blog

Community
How Armor Rock Protects La Push

February 8, 2019
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Each boulder is the size of an SUV and weighs between 18,000 and 32,000 pounds.

The boulders cover the Rialto Spit near La Push, Washington, and repel the force of the ocean waves so that the nearby village stays safe and dry. That’s why the boulders are called armor rock.

The Rialto Spit is a sandbar that extends out from Rialto Beach. On one side of the spit is the Pacific Ocean; on the other, the mouth of the Quillayute River. A protective layer of rock, called a revetment, deflects water and debris. The revetment keeps the sandy ground of the spit intact and protects the village. But over time, storms have carried many of the rocks away. The result is that the spit isn’t as well protected as it once was.

Enormous armor rocks, also called jetty rock, sit on the Rialto Spit. Little James Island can be seen in the distance.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to repair the revetment over the next 10 years. This winter, about 200 feet of the revetment will be repaired with new armor rock and other materials.

Approximately 200 feet of the Rialto Spit Revetment will be repaired this winter.

Protecting the Quileute Tribe

La Push is located on the land of the Quileute Tribe. Just beyond the Rialto Spit lies a marina, a U.S. Coast Guard station, and many homes and businesses.

The Quileute Harbor Marina sits behind the Rialto Spit.

The Quileute have fought hard to preserve their community and their ancestral connection to the ocean. In the future, the tribe plans to relocate many buildings uphill from the coast so that they will be protected from tsunamis or storms. In the meantime, the revetment repair is essential in protecting La Push and members of the tribe who live there.

The Long Haul

Armor rock is hauled 200 miles by truck from Washington Rock Quarries in Orting. Because of the size and weight of each boulder, one truck can haul two to four pieces of armor rock at most. There are other quarries closer to La Push, but only Washington Rock has the type of materials that meet the strict specifications for armor rock.

A hauler inspects a load of armor rock at Kapowsin Quarry before weighing it and heading off to La Push.

Materials for the repairs must meet guidelines set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Armor rock must resist the erosive effects of waves and be the right density. The material also needs to remain structurally sound in freezing temperatures. The test to measure freeze-thaw stability takes up to four months to conduct. Before the project began, Washington Rock’s armor rock had already met all of the Army Corps’s guidelines.

Producing the Big Stuff

A typical blast at Washington Rock’s Kapowsin Quarry doesn’t produce many rocks that are big enough to be called armor rock. So Trade West Construction, the contractor repairing Rialto Spit Revetment, uses a special blasting method to produce more rocks of the right size. The revetment repairs this winter will use around 1,000 of these rocks.

Workers from Trade West Construction inspect boulders at Kapowsin Quarry to determine whether they meet the size requirements for armor rock.

Andy Leavitt, director of Trade West, has traveled all over the world for his company, building and repairing breakwaters, jetties, and revetments like the one in La Push. He has fine tuned the process of finding the right sources of rock and getting all of the equipment to the job site.

The most difficult project Leavitt has done involved taking apart heavy construction equipment and shipping it to an island off the coast of the Philippines where it had to be put back together.

Trade West plans to finish the revetment repairs in La Push by the end of February.


To learn more about La Push and the Quileute Tribe, visit the Quileute Tribe’s website.

Learn more about Washington Rock’s contributions to the Rialto Spit Revetment Repair project on our Projects Page.

Post navigation

< PREVIOUS Previous post:
NEXT > Next post:

Leave a comment Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Project
Calculator

Call Sales
(253) 262-1661

Get A
Quote

Buy A
Giftcard

Logo
Contact
  • Hours

    Office Hours
    Mon–Fri 8 AM–4 PM

    Pit & Quarry Hours
    Mon–Fri 6 AM–4 PM
    Sat 6 AM–12 PM (April through October)

    Prior to your visit, please contact our sales team to check on product availability.

    Annual Holiday Closures
    Closed for New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

  • Phone Number

    Call us at 253-262-1661 and choose an option from the call menu.

    • Press 1 for Sales
    • Press 2 for Dispatch
    • Press 3 for Armorstone
    • Press 4 for Accounting
    • Press 5 for HR & Safety
  • Addresses & Directions

    New Corporate Office
    Mailing Address:
    PO Box 250
    Orting, WA 98360

    Physical Address:
    25009 Brooks Rd E
    Orting, WA 98360

    King Creek Pit
    25009 Brooks Rd E
    Orting, WA 98360
    Map >
    Printable Directions >

    Kapowsin Quarry
    29104 Camp One Rd E
    Orting, WA 98360
    Map >
    Printable Directions >

  • Payment Options

    For the safety of our team members, we no longer accept cash payments. Minimum $35 purchase required on all materials.

    We accept all major credit cards, debit cards, and checks. Please note that a 3% transaction fee is added to credit card purchases. This covers the fee charged by our credit card processor.

    Services
  • Bagged Products
  • Delivery
  • Waste Disposal
  • Gift Cards
    Product Types
  • Armorstone®
  • Crushed Rock
  • Fill & Backfill
  • Landscape Rock & Riprap
  • Round Rock
  • Sand
  • Topsoil
    Product Uses
  • Driveway
  • Dry Creek Bed
  • Garden
  • Golf Course
  • Lawn
  • Playground
  • Rock Wall
  • Sports Fields
© 2023 Washington Rock Quarries. All rights reserved Web Design Seattle by Sayenko Design