By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
While the 2007 Patriots’ Day storm may seem like a long time ago, much of the Maine coast is still in need of repair in the wake of damages stemming from the violent nor’easter. The Scarborough Town Council met Jan. 16 to review a proposal put forth by Public Works Director Mike Shaw to rebuild the Higgins Beach seawall.
Shaw said many natural changes have occurred to Higgins Beach and Bayview avenue, noting the beach appears to be much lower than it was in the 1920s. Shaw showed photos of a partly washed away Bayview Avenue from a storm in 1978.
“The 1978 storm did a tremendous amount of damage,” Shaw said, pointing out the sewer and water lines running beneath Bayview Avenue were compromised by the erosion, which resulted in the town’s installation of the currently disintegrating rip-rap and concrete. Over the last 10 years the residents of Bayview Avenue have comlained of the collapsing wall, Shaw said, and that any further collapse of Bayview Avenue could result in environmental and infrastructural damage for the town.
Steve Bushey, an engineer with Deluca-Hoffman Associates Inc, has worked with Shaw on the proposal, said the current seawall, although it has lasted for 30 years, ultimately failed due to an absence of foundation.
“The only thing holding the rocks in place is gravity,” Shaw said. “The entire seawall is basically sitting on bedrock.”
That bedrock is what the proposed stepped concrete seawall will be pinned to using corrosion protected rebar, “creating a much better structure,” Shaw said.
Shaw said after running wave models and observing the nature of the shore at the seawall, he and Bushey are supporting the installation of a stepped concrete seawall.
The wall would not stop water from overflowing onto Bayview Avenue during an extreme high tide cycle, such as was the case during the Patriots’ Day storm, Bushey said, but it would prevent any further erosion of the dune, as per the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) standards.     
Shaw said DEP regulations require any repair or rebuilding of the seawall must be “less damaging” to the dunes than the current structure, which eliminates alternatives to the stepped wall such as a sloped or recurved wall, which would involve digging into the dunes for installation.
The stepped concrete wall design would begin at the toe of the existing bedrock shelf and “step up” to the 8 to 10 foot rise to Bayview Avenue.
“The stepped concrete wall is a recognized design that dissipates the reflective energy of waves,” Shaw said. “And it gives more access for the public.”
“It’s a stepped surface like a set of stairs, and is therefore very pedestrian friendly,” Bushey said.
Currently, Shaw said, the town is required to seasonally install a wooden staircase for beach access, a process that the stepped seawall would eliminate, offering year round beach access for residents. Shaw did say, however, that it would not be possible for the wall to meet Americans with Disability Act (ADA) regulations. For disabled residents, Shaw said, the town would continue to annually install a wooden boardwalk farther down the dune, as has been done for the past nine years.
The estimated project cost is $638,000 Shaw said, of which $214,000 could come from a FEMA grant given to the town for repairs to the current structure.
“Essentially one third of the project already has funding,” Shaw said.
Shaw said the project is time sensitive and if delayed past this spring would have to wait until the fall, leaving a window of unpredictable summer weather to further destroy the existing wall. He also said the council should take advantage of the current “favorable bidding climate” and DEP’s cooperation in the project, which could only become more restrictive as time goes on.
Town Manager Ronald Owens said it wasn’t the first time the town had looked at Higgins Beach. Owens also said he understood FEMA’s position on not funding the entire $638,000, as they grant funding “to repair the damage, not correct it.”
“We’ve talked about it for years. Is this the right time?” Owens asked.
Councilor Michael Wood said he “needed a better sell” on the idea, and asked if the more expensive proposal would outlast a repair to the existing wall, which he reminded the council had lasted for 30 years.
“Common sense tells me that we won’t have the same amount of deterioration,” Shaw said. “The stepped sea wall would result in less beach scour as well.”
Owens said whatever happens to the wall, there was no guarantee that FEMA would assist the town in rebuilding such a structure again, should another nor’easter do the same amount of damage.
“We don’t know what [FEMA’s] budget is like,” Owens said. “None of us have a crystal ball.”
Councilor Sylvia Most said she was surprised the project was not included in Scarborough’s Capital Improvement Plan if it had been an issue in the past, and suggested the town hold onto FEMA’s contribution until the project could be included in a comprehensive budget.
“I would like to know what our window of opportunity is,” Most said of the FEMA funds.
A second reading and vote on the issue is scheduled for the Feb. 6. council meeting at town hall.