News Releases

Army Corps awards two contracts, $21.1 million total, for post-Sandy beach restoration work in Suffolk County to restore previously constructed risk reduction projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy

Published Nov. 25, 2013

• $14.2 M contract will restore Westhampton beach and dune coastal storm risk reduction project originally constructed in 1997

• $6.9 M contract will restore West of Shinnecock Inlet beach and dune coastal storm risk reduction project originally constructed in 2005

NEW YORK – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District has awarded two contracts for the restoration of two previously constructed coastal storm risk reduction projects in Suffolk County. The work is part of a larger near-term coastal restoration effort taking place at previously constructed coastal storm risk reduction projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy throughout the region.

The first contract is a $6.9 million contract to place roughly 450,000 cubic yards of sand west of Shinnecock Inlet in the area of the previously constructed coastal storm risk reduction project there.

The second contract is a $14.2 million contract to place roughly 1 million cubic yards of sand to restore the previously constructed coastal storm risk reduction project in Westhampton.

Both contracts were awarded to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oak Brook, Ill.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is excited to award these two contracts to restore the West of Shinnecock Inlet and Westhampton coastal storm risk reduction beach projects," said New York District Commander Col. Paul E. Owen. "Both of these engineered beaches projects performed well and greatly reduced impacts from the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Sandy. We look forward to restoring them back to their design profile so they can continue to mitigate the impacts of future storms."

The West of Shinnecock Inlet Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project is designed to reduce coastal storm risks on the barrier island, reducing potential risks to the integrity of the inlet and the navigational structures associated with it while also mitigating erosion west of the inlet. The project’s design calls for 15-foot-high dune with an associated 90-foot-wide beach berm.

The upcoming restoration work there is being carried out to provide additional coastal storm risk reduction using the Corps of Engineers statutory authorities to restore the federally constructed project that was originally built in 2005 in partnership with the state of New York.

Construction on the West of Shinnecock Inlet restoration work is slated to begin by the end of the year depending on how long it takes to mobilize equipment and get set up. Work on this contract is slated to be completed in early 2014. 

The Westhampton Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project is designed to reduce coastal storm risks to the local community and includes a 15-foot-high dune with an associated 90-foot-wide beach berm that itself is 9.5 feet high.

The upcoming work there is being carried out to provide additional coastal storm risk reduction using the Corps of Engineers statutory authorities to restore the federally constructed project that was originally built in 1997 in partnership with the state of New York.

Construction on the Westhampton restoration work is expected to begin early next year, depending on how long it takes to mobilize equipment and get set up. Work on this contract is slated to be completed this coming spring.

Separate dredges will be used to carry out each project and the sand being placed through these contracts will be dredged from nearby offshore borrow areas previously identified as safe for placement along the beach and tested prior to this sand placement work.

Work on the two contracts is being carried out through authorities granted to the Corps of Engineers through two acts, the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Act (Public Law 84-99) and the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-2, also referred to as the Sandy Relief Bill).

Through PL 84-99, the Corps of Engineers is authorized to repair previously constructed projects after a large event like Hurricane Sandy. Put simply, this pre-existing authority allows the Corps to return the project area to pre-storm conditions.

In conjunction with work that was scheduled prior to Hurricane Sandy’s landfall, the Corps has already placed roughly 173,000 cubic yards of sand at the West of Shinnecock Inlet Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project since Hurricane Sandy to restore the project to pre-storm conditions. This was done in accordance with PL 84-99 authorities and was done prior to the passage PL 113-2, which authorized the placement of the additional sand to be placed through the recently awarded $6.9 million contract.

Through PL 113-2, the Corps of Engineers is authorized to restore certain previously constructed projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy to their original design profile, rather than just their conditions immediately prior to the storm. Through this legal authority, the Corps of Engineers is authorized to place additional sand at Westhampton and west of Shinnecock Inlet to restore the project areas to their original design profile.

PL 113-2 also allocated the funds for both of these coastal restoration contracts.

The coastal restoration work at these two projects is part of a larger U.S. Army Corps of Engineers effort throughout the northeastern United States to place more than 26 million cubic yards of sand to restore coastal storm risk reduction projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Roughly 7 million cubic yards of sand will be placed at coastal storm risk reduction projects in the state of New York, including at Coney Island, Rockaway Beach and at project sites along the south shore of Long Island.

-- 30 –


Contact
Chris Gardner
917-790-8108
christopher.p.gardner@usace.army.mil

Release no. 13-031