Workers Removing Tsunami Dock on Washington Coast

Workers are dismantling a 65-foot-long dock from the Japanese tsunami that washed ashore on a remote beach on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

A spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Keeley Belva, said Tuesday they are making progress.

The Peninsula Daily News reports the work started Sunday and should be complete by the end of the month.

The dock made of plastic foam encased in concrete is on a beach within the boundaries of Olympic National Park and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The Undersea Co. of Port Townsend is cutting the 185-ton dock into pieces that can be carried away by a helicopter.

Japan is paying most of the removal cost.

The dock was lost in the March 2011 tsunami and landed in December in Washington.