The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today announced measures to reverse flood damage west of Shinnecock Inlet after two storms in October 2019 resulted in severe erosion and large losses of sand along the shoreline. The damage threatened properties west of the Shinnecock Inlet, including Dune Road, an evacuation route, commercial fishing plants, marina facilities, and public restaurants. USACE has awarded a $10.7 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oakbrook, Illinois, to address the significant coastline storm damages encountered at the West of Shinnecock Inlet Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project on the south shore of Long Island.
Work is expected to begin this week and be completed before the end of March, pending good weather. New York District plans on placing an estimated 600,000 cubic yards of sand to enhance coastal storm risk reduction measures. Great Lakes will bring in a Cutterhead Dredge to perform the beach replenishment work at WOSI, ensuring no impacts to other projects currently underway at West Hampton Beach and Fire Island Inlet to Moriches Inlet.
Colonel Thomas D. Asbery, Commander, New York District said, "Awarding this contract will allow USACE to address the coastal flooding at West of Shinnecock Inlet. Safety continues to be our top priority as we develop tangible solutions to mitigate risk to these communities. I'd like to thank all of our partners at New York State and Suffolk County, as well as the support of our federal, state, and local elected officials for their support in helping to bring a sense of urgency and high level visibility that helped address this issue in a timely manner."
Under Public Law 84-99 (PL 84-99) USACE has the legal authority to conduct emergency response and recovery activities to supplement local efforts in the repair of existing Coastal Storm Risk Management projects impacted by significant coastal storms. Once complete, the work will restore the federally authorized WOSI project to its 2005 level of protection when it was originally built, meaning a 15-foot-high dune with an associated 140-foot-wide beach berm from the toe of the dune.