Sandwich Seeks Bids to Transport Bourne Sand to Town Neck

Bourne gave Sandwich about 5,000 cubic yards of sand in 2018 after dredging a boating channel.

Sand transport bids must be submitted before January 6, 2021.

Although the sand in 2018 was free, Sandwich had to pay almost $50,000 to have it delivered, deposited and graded.

Sandwich hopes to start the latest sand deposit and grading project by January 30 and have it completed before March 1 when the piping plovers return and new beach grass is planted, Sandwich Natural Resources Director David J. DeConto said.

Mr. DeConto said the sand will definitely help the rapidly eroding beaches, which have suffered this month from windstorms and a northeaster.

Sandwich Building Inspector Brendan W. Brides said Wednesday, December 23, that the town had tagged three homes on Salt Marsh Road as unstable.

“I don’t like to use the C-word [condemned], but two were undermined substantially and the foundation of the third is completely collapsed,” Mr. Brides said, referring to 110 Salt Marsh Road.

The owners of the summer homes are consulting with engineers and contractors to determine whether the damage can be repaired or whether the homes have to be completely rebuilt—preferably farther from the dune and placed well off the sand.

“If the cost of the damage is greater than 50 percent of the market value, the houses have to be built according to code,” Mr. Brides said, adding that modern code dictates that houses along the shore be built on pilings.

Mr. DeConto said all sand that is placed on Town Neck Beach will eventually benefit the beaches in East Sandwich as the tides shift and redeposit it down the coast.

He said he is grateful to Bourne for the help but added that Sandwich is still very much hoping to receive a far larger donation from another source.

The town is awaiting final word from the US Army Corps of Engineers that almost 400,000 cubic yards of sand should be dredged from Scusset Beach and deposited on Town Neck.

The Army Corps recently issued a preliminary report taking responsibility for depriving Town Neck Beach of sand by building the stone jetties at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal. The Corps is expected to seek public comment on its findings in early 2021, Mr. DeConto said on Wednesday.

The preliminary report did not address ongoing maintenance of the dune because it was “beyond the scope of the 111 Study,” an Army Corps spokesman told the Sandwich Board of Selectmen in October.

The 388,000 cubic yards of sand will greatly improve the health of the dune, the town’s beach consultant, Woods Hole Group, has said.

“I wish we could get underway with the whole project, but it is a very slow process,” Mr. DeConto said. “I just hope we have another mild winter.”