Posted on August 19, 2024
YOUNGSTOWN, N.Y. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District is planning critical defenses against erosion for Old Fort Niagara, part of a project to stabilize a portion of the Lake Ontario shoreline.
With funding recently transferred from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation – the project’s non-federal sponsor – the district is starting a $760,000 design phase.
“I’m proud to deliver almost $500,000 in federal funding from our Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law to make necessary repairs to flood-eroded Old Fort Niagara,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “This Emergency Shoreline Protection project will preserve the beauty that makes Fort Niagara State Park special and ensure that this historic site can be enjoyed for years to come. Together, we are building a stronger and more resilient future for our Lake Ontario communities.”
“This funding will help preserve Old Fort Niagara from the impacts of erosion and climate change that are threatening the stability of the shorelines along the Great Lakes,” said Congressman Timothy Kennedy (NY-26). “The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will now be able to start designs to increase the resiliency of one of our region’s historic crown jewels, ensuring tourists, students, and history buffs alike will be able to visit the fort as it was intended for years to come.”
“The Corps of Engineers is committing some of its best expertise and resources to plan for lasting protection of Old Fort Niagara,” said Lt. Col. Robert Burnham, USACE Buffalo District commander. “Helping ensure this historic treasure remains available to residents and visitors while stabilizing yet another piece of the Great Lakes shoreline is something we’re proud to do.”
“As climate change continues to impact our Great Lakes, we are grateful to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their expertise in helping us protect New York’s historic Old Fort Niagara which includes the oldest buildings on the Great Lakes. Projects like this underscore how vital it is to work as teams to ensure we are all good stewards of important places,” said Mark V. Mistretta, Niagara Region Director, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
“We are grateful to the Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for their support of this important project. It has been almost a century since preservation pioneers saved Old Fort Niagara from certain ruin. It is deeply gratifying to see preservation efforts continue well into the 21st century.,” said Robert Emerson, Old Fort Niagara executive director.
Considerable erosion along the shoreline of Lake Ontario at Old Fort Niagara and New York’s Fort Niagara State Park jeopardizes the wall around the fort. Continued erosion could threaten 18th and 19th century landmarks like the French Castle and North Redoubt, all part of the site which is on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places. The most significant impacts currently seen are immediately east of the fort’s masonry seawall and concrete capped sheet pile footer.
Design of “Old Fort Niagara Emergency Shoreline Protection project” is now under way and expected to be completed in January 2025. A detailed design report by the Corps of Engineers will address civil-structural, environmental, geotechnical, and other considerations, and provide draft plans and specifications for the work. The current plan includes reconstruction of the slope of the shoreline with 400 feet of stone revetment stretching east from the end of the fort’s masonry wall along the eroding bluff, better protecting against future erosion by Lake Ontario.
Funding for the design phase is cost-shared 65% federal and 35% non-federal, with $480,000 from USACE and $280,000 from NYSOPRHR. The project’s feasibility study, completed in 2021, was cost-shared 50/50.
The project partnership agreement for repairs to the shoreline was signed in March of this year, authorized under the Corps of Engineers’ Continuing Authorities Program Section 14 for emergency streambank and shoreline erosion.
