PLUM ISLAND — Local officials are deciding whether they need to shore up the wall of giant sandbags just north of Plum Island Center until a beach renourishment project begins in January.
Newbury Conservation Agent Doug Packer said he has been talking with a state official and the town's consulting engineer about reinforcing the northern end of the artificial dune near 16 Northern Blvd.
The artificial dune is actually a network of giant sandbags, some up to 27 feet long, placed on the ocean side of the natural bank. A gap has developed between the sandbags and the face of the natural dune behind them.
Truckloads of loose sand were dumped next to 16 Northern Blvd. three weeks ago after seawater churned in behind one of the sandbags.
Packer said he has been working with consulting engineer David Vine of Newburyport and Eric Worrall, regional director of the state Department of Environmental Protection, to come up with a solution that will hold together until the Army Corps of Engineers begins the beach replenishment in early January.
Packer said one more sandbag may be constructed at the northerly end of the network.
He said the company that installed the bags, a Lexington-based erosion control firm called Netco, will be sending a crew to maintain and repair them, probably next week.
While they are at the site, Packer said he would obtain a recommendation as to whether another sandbag is needed.
The Army Corps is planning to contract for the dredging of the Merrimack River channel. The dredged sand, expected to total about 160,000 cubic yards, will be pumped onto the beaches at Plum Island Center and Salisbury.
Plum Island is scheduled to receive 120,000 yards along a 2,500-foot stretch of badly eroded shoreline. Salisbury will get the other 40,000 yards.
Bids for the project, which is estimated to cost $4.1 million, are due to be opened by the Army Corps on Nov. 17.
The actual beach replenishment will take place in January, February and March.
Plum Island's beach erosion has worsened in the past two years to the point where some beachfront houses are threatened. One home was lost a year ago after it was undermined by heavy surf and had to be demolished.
The Army Corps conducted a study of the problem and concluded that if nothing were done, as many as 26 buildings and part of Northern Boulevard itself could be lost to erosion.
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
