The biggest renovation the Des Moines Marina has ever undergone is finally complete.

The $4.4 million project was the first phase of a project to completely replace the aging infrastructure of the marina.

A large section of the old wood bulkhead was removed and replaced by a new metal one. Harbormaster Joe Dusenbury said the section of bulkhead replaced was not necessarily in the worst shape, but it was seismically the most vulnerable section of bulkhead.

The other major aspect of the project was to completely replace all of the utilities from the north lot into part of the south lot.

Dusenbury said parts of the north parking lot have been set up for development.

He said creating design guidelines and working on a plan for how the city wants to see the marina development is already being worked on and should be in front of the council in the coming months.

The new project also implemented some new technology called cable carriers in the boat moorage area.

The cable carriers keep all of the utilities out of the water. Dusenbury said the Des Moines Marina is the first marina he is aware of to use cable carriers.

New lights have been installed throughout the marina. LED lights have been installed in the north lot, but Dusenbury said at this point they were too expensive to put everywhere. All of the new lights are much lower than the old ones to cut down on light pollution at night.

The public boatlift has been removed. Dusenbury said its use has been steadily declining for some time and it was not financially feasible to install a new one.

Another addition to the marina is 20 security cameras, most of them watching the boat being kept at the marina. Dusenbury said more cameras are planned to watch the parking lots. There is a capacity for another 32 cameras, Dusenbury noted.

Two public spaces close to the water have been added. A compass has been created out of the brick and will light up in the middle and each of the points of the compass. In the middle will be the Des Moines seal. Benches surround the compass.

Construction took a little over a year to complete, beginning in November 2009. The major part of the project is over. Dusenbury said it will be several months before everything is completely finished and signed off on so the City Council can sign off on the project.