Vatia seawall first to be built with
“Samoan Stones” designed by the A.C.E.

The new seawall in Vatia is approximately 50% complete and expected to be ready by the end of this year. So what’s the big deal?

The Vatia seawall is special in its own right, as it is the first ever in the territory to be constructed using a new pre cast concrete unit designed by the Army Corps of Engineers specifically for the coastline of American Samoa.

Because of that distinction, the new units are being called “Samoan Stones.”

“They are quite remarkable actually,” commented McConnell Dowell project manager Mark Liersch who oversees the work. “At first we had a few initial reservations about it but it’s working well.”

In addition to Vatia, McConnell Dowell started on the reconstruction of the seawall revampment in Poloa around the elementary school campus last week.

The reconstruction work there is necessary to improve damages caused by Tropical Cyclone Heta in 2004.