Storm Rips Seawall Yet Again

In the wake of yet another coastal storm, repairs will again be needed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project on the downtown Montauk beach.

Waves and wind from the northeaster earlier this week exposed sections of the sandbag seawall installed by contractors for the Army Corps last year as part of an $8.4-million beach stabilization project. Designed to keep waves from undermining shorefront hotels, the seawall has performed its function during several storms but has sustained damage and required rehabilitation each time.

After being re-covered with sand following a previous storm, the sandbag pile was again exposed this week. According to project specifications, it is supposed to have three feet of sand over it. The surf reached the sandbags, leaving no passable beach.

According to an agreement among the sponsors of the project — the Army Corps, New York State, Suffolk County, and East Hampton Town — maintaining sand atop the sandbag pile will become the responsibility, both financial and otherwise, of the town and the county once the project is deemed complete and is handed off by the federal agency, which bore the entire construction cost.

However, a final walk-through has not yet occurred, nor is there a final agreement on ongoing operation and maintenance.

Damages from a fall storm required the Army Corps contractors to reinstall fencing and beach grass, and there were several other outstanding items, including re-covering a mat of concrete blocks at the South Edison Street beach-vehicle access. The concrete remains exposed after this week’s storm.

Town officials also have questions about a 50-foot berm of sand that had been installed in front of the sandbags as part of the project; it was washed away in the earlier storm and has not been replaced.

Besides exposing the sandbags in particularly vulnerable spots along the downtown beach, this week’s rain and storm-surge waves took out the sand fencing along the entire length of the project.