San Diego

The San Diego Unified Port District awarded a $559,000 contract Tuesday to Marathon Construction Corp. for a joint ferry and fishing pier at the base of First Street in Coronado.

Construction of the 20-foot-wide pier, which will complement the Old Ferry Landing project being built nearby, will begin in about 10 days, port officials said. Completion is expected by mid-July.

In return for the pier construction permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Port District must spend $349,000 to make environmental improvements around San Diego Bay.

These include adding nearly an acre of intertidal habitat in the Emory Reserve area, constructing a clam bed near the Bali Hai Hotel on Shelter Island, and planting several thousand square feet of eel grass next to the Chula Vista Wildlife Reserve.