News Stories

Nantasket Beach Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project is set to begin

USACE, New England District
Published Feb. 28, 2018
The center section of the Nantasket Beach seawall in Hull, Massachusetts will be fortified as part of the Nantasket Beach Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction project.

The center section of the Nantasket Beach seawall in Hull, Massachusetts will be fortified as part of the Nantasket Beach Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction project.

A seawall at Nantasket Beach will have its center section fortified as part of the Nantasket Beach Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction project in Hull, Massachusetts.  George R. Cairns & Sons, Inc., of Windham, New Hampshire will do the work under a $2,696,200 contract.  “The project consists of installing an approximately 2,200-linear-foot stone toe revetment along the seawall at Nantasket Beach Reservation on Hull Shore Drive,” said Project Manager Michael Riccio.

The Nantasket Beach seawall was built in 1915 and is owned and maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).  Although the seawall has been relatively stable and well-maintained since its construction, over the last 25 years, undermining of the seawall footing caused by long term erosion has resulted in several partial failures along the northern and southern sections.

Damaged sections have since been rebuilt and shored up by the DCR through emergency actions but the remaining 2,200 feet of undamaged seawall has remained unprotected and is still vulnerable to erosion and future undermining.  This project will shore up the remaining 2,200 linear feet, resulting in stabilization along the entire length of the Nantasket Beach seawall. 

 The New England District and the DCR executed a Project Partnership Agreement in April 2016 for the final design and construction of the project.

According to Riccio, work on the revetment will include shoreline excavation of about 27,000 cubic yards of beach material, placement of approximately 4,000 square yards of geotextile fabric, placement of about 1,600 cubic yards of ground and crushed stone, placement of about 4,000 cubic yards of 350-pound stone, placement of approximately 10,000 cubic yards of 2-3 ton armor stone, placement of approximate 30, 6-foot by 3-foot by 2-foot granite slabs, and backfilling of the revetment with excavated beach material.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation manages the beach and is the project sponsor.  Construction is set to begin by the end of February 2018 and is expected to be completed by the end of May 2018.