NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2023 CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
In November and December, Weeks Marine and their team largely completed Breakwater ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, ‘D’ and ‘E’; they also finished the base layers and placed all of the core stones on the trunks of breakwaters ‘F’, ‘G’, and ‘H’. This means that five breakwaters are complete, and construction is in progress on the other three! At the moment, the contractor is working on placing armor units on Breakwater ‘F’, which is expected to be completed by February 2024. Armor stone placement on the last two breakwaters will continue after that.
We also want to let everyone know that the Shoreline Restoration component of Living Breakwaters will start the week of January 15. The Shoreline work includes the one-time placement of sand between Loretto St. and Manhattan St. to create a wider beach and increase the distance between the toe of the existing dune and the shoreline (high water line). In January, the construction team will start Shoreline Restoration’s site preparation work which includes removing debris, installing erosion control and fencing, setting up the staging area, and getting the site ready for sand placement. Depending on the weather, this may start later in the month, but work should begin this month. Once site preparation is done, trucks will start delivering sand to the beach.
Sand placement will begin the first or second week of February and continue through April 2024. Work will take place between 7:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Monday – Friday. Sand will be delivered to the beach by trucks via Sprague St. You can read more about this Shoreline Restoration work and why it’s needed in this month Fun Fact below.
Image Descriptions (Credit: WMI + Bernstein Associates, November 2023)
- Left and Center: Aerial photos of Living Breakwaters
- Right: View from the beach
The Tottenville shoreline has dramatically eroded over the years, in some places more than others. Once completed, the breakwaters, by breaking waves, will slow the movement of sediment along the shoreline. This will reduce, and in most places reverse, this pattern of erosion and rebuild the beach slowly over time in most areas along the shoreline. However, at the beach between Manhattan Street and Loretto Street, which is already very narrow, modeling of shoreline change completed as part of the design process indicates that the breakwaters will reduce further erosion but would not “grow” the beach here. Thus, the project includes the one-time placement of sand to widen the beach between Manhattan and Loretto Streets. Once in place, while there will be some sand movement as the beach settles into its new shape, the breakwaters will help sustain the widened beach.
The shoreline restoration will require approximately 22,000 tons of sand. Sand will be delivered to the beach by truck via Sprague St (see map). During construction, you can expect approximately 35 truck-trips per day on a typical construction day. Once onsite, sand will be spread and shaped by a dozer, a wheeled loader, and an excavator. During active construction hours, the work zone will be marked with fencing and there will be no beach access between Loretto St and Manhattan St, but beach access will be restored at the end of each workday. Machines and equipment will be stored overnight and on weekends at the designated staging area located adjacent to the construction entrance at Loretto St. This staging area will be fenced in and secured (see map).
If you have additional questions about the Shoreline Restoration, please visit Shoreline Restoration FAQ’s page.
