Posted on December 19, 2024
SALISBURY, Mass. — Work began this week on a project to place 30,000 tons of sand on a Massachusetts beach where erosion threatens homes and previous efforts to restore the dunes were quickly washed away.
Storms in recent years have repeatedly caused major damage on Salisbury Beach, including washing away tons of sand and destroying wooden stairs at beach access points.
“The dune is our first line of defense,” said Lawrence Kady, who owns a home in the area. “It really absorbs so much of that energy.”
Homeowners invested more than $500,000 to bring in 14,000 tons of sand to protect their properties, but much of it appeared to be washed away by subsequent coastal storms.
“It redistributed within the system and anywhere in the system helps protect the barrier and helps protect all the infrastructure,” explained environmental scientist Tom Hughes.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said the Department of Conservation and Recreation awarded a contract to Georgetown-based T Ford Company, Inc. to place new sand along the dune between beach access points 5 and 11. The goal is to restore a continuous interim dune, reducing the risk of damage caused by erosion, flooding and storm surges.
“Due to regulatory constraints and permitting time frames for putting a project in place before this winter, construction equipment cannot place sand directly into the water or past the high tide line, so a portion of the sand being placed is intended to be washed by waves and currents to move it into the near shore environment naturally,” Tarr (R-Gloucester) wrote in a statement. “This can make it look like the beach has eroded, but the sand is intentionally ‘washed away’ into the water for redistribution below the waterline. This helps reduce wave impact along the shore and it is important to note that this sand, while no longer visible to the naked eye above sea level, will eventually make its way back to the beach nourishing the dunes during calmer conditions.”
