Monday morning, for the first time since Hurricane Sandy, the ocean breached Matunuck Beach Road.
According to engineers, the breach occurred because the cement block wall and sand dunes that have protected the road were removed to make way for construction of the Town’s sheet pile wall.
Construction began two months ago leaving the road exposed.
In addition to sea water in the road,
the Ocean Mist’s infrastructure is feeling the impact of the daily
vibrations from machinery used to drive large sheets of steel into the ground.
Five days ago a gas pipe at the Ocean Mist cracked during the day and
required immediate repair.
The project has not gone smoothly.
On the first day of pile driving, vibrations exceeded allowable levels,
preventing the sheet piles from being driven within 30 feet of the Ocean Mist.
The second thirty feet of steel met with obstructions and is bent, not level, and unusable.
The remaining 142 feet of steel sheets have been partially inserted,
but with great difficulty, and it remains to be seen if they can actually be driven to the full design depth. A second row of temporary
steel sheeting still needs to be installed to support the 20foot deep excavation to install
riprap, and this sheeting will likely encounter the same problems as the permanent wall.
In the best case scenario, the 202 foot wall that the Town is permitted to build will reach
only 172 feet. Accommodations for the 30 foot gap between the Ocean Mist and the
wall will have to be addressed.
Imagine that you hire a contractor to repair your roof—he strips the old one bare and
doesn’t return to replace it. It begins to rain. That’s the situation we have on Matunuck
Beach Road.
The solution is, and has been, reconstruction of Mary Carpenters historic sea wall.
Kevin Finnegan has the permits to begin construction and has been ready to begin for
months. Mary’s wall, if in place today, would have prevented water from reaching the
road. Further, restoration of Mary’s historic wall protects more than 500 feet of road
without financial impact to the Town.
The Town is halting the progress on the restoration of Mary’s wall. With each
passing day the situation gets worse.
Click the links below to send an email to the Town Council calling on them to stop the madness
and facilitate the restoration of Mary Carpenter’s historic sea wall.
Feel Free to copy and paste the following content if you are not sure what to say :
Dear Council Members,
I am a member of Protect Matunuck writing to urge you to stop the madness on
Matunuck Beach Road and facilitate the restoration of Mary Carpenter’s historic sea
wall.
Sincerely
THESE ARE THE EMAIL ADDRESSES
Getlibertyinri@gmail.com Joe Viele
megh315@aol.com Margaret Healy – President
Bryant@kw.com Brian C Da Cruz
Sustainabel@gmail.com Abel Collins – Vice President
lizgledhill@gmail.com Liz Gledhill