A West Haven beach is being restored and protected after sustaining heavy damage during Superstorm Sandy.
Residents of Ocean Avenue in West Haven cast anxious looks across the street Wednesday to the dump truck and bulldozer spreading sand on the beach. They wondered whether a berm would block their view of the water. They wondered how far the sand would extend. And they wondered whether the work would last.
Construction is underway as the city restores what was lost when Superstorm Sandy swept the shore and works to protect the beach against future natural disasters.
Mark Paine, the assistant commissioner of public works for West Haven, said the sand will extend about a hundred feet to the water and that he doesn't expect the berm to block the sea. But he admitted that a strong enough storm could send them back to square one.
"We're potentially one storm away from losing the road, and along with the road, our storm sewer lines and potentially the homes across the street," Paine said, of one spot in particular along the beachfront, where Prospect Avenue and Grove Place dead end at an eroded part of the beach.
"The idea is that the beach and the proper slope dissipates the wave energy during the storms – allows the waves to come in, sort of run out of gas, and run back out."
He said scientists at Southern Connecticut State University will study how well the sand performs, measuring levels of erosion over time. The Army Corps of Engineers is managing the project.
Paine said the Army Corps previously worked on the 4,100 linear feet of beachfront in the past and felt some responsibility to maintain it.
