SALISBURY — With the pumping of tons of sand onto Salisbury Beach poised to begin perhaps as early as today, Town Manager Neil Harrington warned residents that the operation could cause significant disruptions, if only for a few days.
Under contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. of Oak Brook, Ill., will dredge the Merrimack River channel and deposit the sand directly onto beaches here and on Plum Island.
In addition to clearing the channel for marine traffic, the $5.5 million project is intended to replenish some badly eroded stretches of shoreline in both locations.
"The work in Salisbury will be done around the clock for four days straight, pumping 40,000 cubic yards of sand onto the beach," Harrington said in his regular report to the Board of Selectmen Monday night. "We will be asking the public to be understanding of the round-the-clock schedule for the dredging, as the contractor is attempting to get as much sand onto the beaches in the least amount of time."
People living near the work site can probably expect to lose some sleep.
Harrington said there will be inconvenience caused by lights and noise.
A project description distributed by the Army Corps also notes that the onshore equipment have backup alarms, "which for obvious safety reasons cannot be turned off."
There were three pieces of large earth-moving equipment — bulldozers and front-end loaders — on the beach as of yesterday and they will be moving material through the night in an area illuminated by three light towers.
Salisbury is due to receive the first 40,000 of what is estimated to be a total of 160,000 cubic yards of sand. The Newbury section of Plum Island is slated to receive the other 120,000.
While asking for the public's patience in putting up with the inconvenience, Harrington also warned people to stay a safe distance away from the machinery.
"We also caution the public not to interfere with the work in any way by curiosity-seeking too close to the areas of the beach where the sand will be dumped," he wrote in his report to the selectmen.
The 40,000 yards of dredge material that will begin to arrive soon is double the amount of the last significant infusion of sand on the beach, 20,000 yards that was spread by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation after the Patriots Day storm of April 2007.
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