Got rocks? Bellingham does, but here’s where they’re about to be shipped to.

That growing pile of rocks on Bellingham’s waterfront won’t be around for long because they are going to be used to stabilize a jetty in southern Washington.

Trucks have been unloading large rocks at the Bellingham Shipping Terminal this month. The rocks are coming from local quarries and are being to repair a jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River, said Mike Hogan, a spokesman for the Port of Bellingham.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is handling the project, which focuses on the north jetty near Astoria, Ore. The jetty was damaged by the Pacific Ocean, where winter storms can create waves more than 30 feet high. If the jetty was ever breached, it could deposit enough sand to shut down commercial shipping in the area, according to the agency’s website about the project.

Hogan said the rock shipments are expected to last throughout the summer.

This story was originally published July 12, 2018 at 5:00 AM.