DULUTH – With funding finally in hand, major repairs to the harbor seawall behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, a high-traffic area for ship-viewing and summer tourism, will begin this fall.

The $18 million project is meant to both protect the area from extreme storms and boost the economy. It has been delayed for more than a year as federal and state funding were secured and the cost of steel rose.

About 1,000 feet of eroded wall will be replaced, and the walkway along it will be widened to make room for separate biking and walking paths, along with seating and park-like landscaping. Harbor Drive will remain, but it will narrow.

"This project is going to create a very distinctive and compelling new Duluth space," Mayor Emily Larson said at a news conference.

It's expected to connect Canal Park more comfortably to attractions along the waterfront leading to the Pier B complex, including Bayfront Festival Park and the Great Lakes Aquarium. A new seawall will also make it possible for cruise ships to dock. Several Viking ships visited this summer, using tenders to ferry passengers from the ship to shore.

The city will pay $720,000, or 4% of the total project, which will run through 2024. The bulk of the money comes from state bonding and a federal economic development grant.

Parts of the seawall are more than 90 years old. Without the necessary replacement, the walkway along the harbor would be subject to sinkholes, as sections of the Minnesota Slip were before its seawall was repaired in 2018. (That project led to the difficult task of towing the William A. Irvin ship museum out and then back in.)

A vacuum exists under parts of the seawall because of heavy erosion. More frequent and intense storms creating forceful waves that crest the seawall could lead to sidewalk damage similar to what the city's Lakewalk faced in recent years.

The new seawall is necessary for safety, said Jim Filby Williams, director of city parks, properties and libraries.

But the adjacent boulevard will be "set up to be used and enjoyed and to linger in a way that it simply isn't today," he said.