Community Corner

Dredge Work, Beach Restoration Begins in Hampton Bays

Quarter of a million cubic yards being transported to Tiana, and beaches west of the Shinnecock Inlet; another 113,000 proposed.

A project to transport nearly a quarter of a million cubic yards of sand to the Hampton Bays shoreline started on Friday, repleneshing the beaches west of the Shinnecock Inlet and around Tiana Bay after they were heavily damaged in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as well as last year's Tropical Storm Irene.

According to Rep. Tim Bishop's office, over 110,000 more cubic yards may be forthcoming as well, which would be used to mitigate erosion on beaches west of the inlet.

"Sandy made a bad situation at West of the Shinnecock Inlet even worse, and I have requested that the Army Corps seek an expansion of the existing contract with the dredging company to deliver more sand while the dredge is operating there," Bishop, D-Southampton, said in a statement.

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Illinois-based Great Lakes Dredge arrived at Cupsogue Beach in mid-November and , now moving onto the work at the Shinnecock Inlet.

Funding  with a bid in the amount of $3.87 million. According to Bishop's office, New York State is covering the $1.6 million cost of dredging the 115,000 cubic yards, funding coming through through the NY Works Program.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"This work is now, more than ever, critically important to protecting our shorelines from further erosion," said state Sen. Ken LaValle, R-Port Jefferson.

The cost of the proposal to remove an additional 113,000 cubic yards for erosion mitigation was not immediately clear, according to a Bishop spokesman said, though since the dredge equipment is already set up and crews are on site, additional work would likely not be quite as much as the original $3.87 million project.

Related Reading: 

  • Scenescapes: View Shinnecock Inlet from the Sky
  • Shinnecock Inlet to Be Dredged; Beach Renourishment Set for Westhampton
  • Shinnecock Inlet Set to Be Dredged


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