Army Corps of Engineers returns to storm-damaged Montauk shore

The Army Corps of Engineers returned to the shores of Montauk Thursday to rebuild storm-battered beaches. In September, Tropical Storm Hermine affected the $8.4 million beachfront restoration project,

News 12 Staff

Dec 16, 2016, 4:12 AM

Updated 2,860 days ago

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The Army Corps of Engineers returned to the shores of Montauk Thursday to rebuild storm-battered beaches.
In September, Tropical Storm Hermine affected the $8.4 million beachfront restoration project, which was completed in the spring. The project included 14,000 sand bags buried along 3,000 feet of the Montauk shoreline as a protection barrier.
The restoration project faced a lot of opposition from residents last year, including Tom Muse, who says he was arrested for trying to stop the Army Corps of Engineers from constructing the wall.
"How long is this going to be sustainable?" asked Muse. "Our doubts from the beginning of this project was the sustainability of financing the continual maintenance of this project."
According to Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, the damage is a clear indicator that the project doesn't adequately protect downtown Montauk, which is a low-lying area susceptible to flooding.
"Our position has been that the Corps needs to come back to Montauk as soon as possible and pump sand from offshore onto this beach...in order to provide the protection to the primary dune," says Cantwell.
A spokesman with the Army Corps of Engineers told News 12 that Cantwell's request is being considered, but maintained that the restoration project completed in the spring served its purpose during Hermine.
"The project performed as designed, providing additional flood risk reduction measures that resulted in no flooding or damage to the downtown Montauk area," the spokesperson said.
Cantwell says the Army Corps of Engineers is footing the bill for the restoration now, but in the future it will be the town's responsibility.