A new development at the Port Dalhousie Piers.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is now officially looking for a company to take over rehabilitation work at the piers.
Tender on the project is open and will close on October 23rd.
Officials were not able to give a firm deadline on when the piers will be fully accessible to the public, but St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik says they have set out priorities.
"The West Piers, which is the pier on Lakeside Park side, is the priority so we want to get this one rehabilitated and open and then we'll shift over to the east side. So there's going to be a couple seasons of construction work ahead of us."
Once rehabilitation is complete, the City of St. Catharines will take over possession of the piers from the Federal Government.
In the meantime, St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle says you may notice a barge with an excavator in the water.
"It was a previous announcement that was made that the environmental assessment would go ahead, that way there isn't a delay for construction because of the environmental assessment. So there's been work already being done and there have been news stories of eels being found. Those eels will be relocated - they are an endangered species. But that is work that is already being done and in progress and the barge will be getting soil samples so that there's a better understanding of the condition of the soil underneath."