Final steps of reconstruction project under way in Bethany Beach
At least one person in Bethany Beach apparently thinks the town needs a better view of its shoreline — and they weren’t prepared to wait. Town Manager Cliff Graviet reported to council members on July 18 that an unknown person or persons had relocated a bench to the top of the dune at Third Street sometime prior to the morning of July 17.
Additionally, he said, they’d apparently brought along a Sawzall to enhance the view from that bench, cutting off more than a foot of the vertical slats at the top of the dune fence in front of the bench.
Graviet posited that the move might have been meant as a message to the town regarding the view, or possibly regarding continued delays in a plan to place benches atop most of the street-end dune crossings as a viewing platform and resting place for beachgoers.
Some citizens and visitors remain troubled by the loss of some of the view of the shoreline due to the 16-foot-tall dune created as part of the town’s beach reconstruction project.
The dune has been heralded by town officials as protection from storm damage for the boardwalk, bandstand and property — a position supported by the lack of damage seen from the May 12, 2008, nor’easter.
But state officials, in the wake of complaints about the loss of view from the boardwalk, have officially requested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers consider whether the dune can be reduced to 14 feet in height without substantially reducing that protection.
No word has yet been received in response to that request, as the Corps repeats an analysis of storm models to determine whether that change can be made. If approved, the alteration of the dune would have to wait, however, until the next scheduled beach replenishment cycle, according to Corps officials.
The creation of bump-outs for dune crossings that do not currently have space for benches has been delayed until completion of the Corps-managed reconstruction project has officially been signed-off upon.
That was scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, after more than two months of delay resulting from the May 12 nor’easter that severely damaged the reconstructed beach on the very day it was due to be designated as complete. Town officials said Wednesday, July 23, that they had not yet received word on whether the final sign-off had been done.
The same contractor performing the repairs to the storm-damaged crossovers and dune fencing has been contracted by the town to perform the alterations to accommodate the benches. That work was set to begin immediately after word of the project sign-off was received.
Graviet also reported to the council on July 18 that the town had received permission from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to use its own equipment to fill in the tide pools that have been a presence — and, for many, a nuisance — since the beach began rebuilding from the nor’easter.
Beachgoers in recent weeks have been forced to traverse water ranging between several inches and more than a foot deep in order to make their way from the bottom of many of the reconstructed dune crossings to the crest of the naturally rebuilding beach. While the pools have been a boon for some of the small children visiting the beach, they’ve primarily been viewed as a headache.
Work to fill in the tide pools was scheduled to start Wednesday, July 23, and continue through the week.
The completion of that project is also set to mark the start of work to create designated smoking areas — another project delayed as a result of the late-spring nor’easter. Once the smoking areas at the eastern foot of the dune are created, the town is expected to begin full enforcement of its first-in-the-state beach smoking ban.