CPE’s Nicole Sharp reports that progress is good at Davis Park with two dredges operating there since Friday March 20. Both the RN Weeks and the BE Lindholm moved to Davis Park late Friday evening to increase the rate of beach construction. As of this afternoon, approximately 50 linear feet of beach was left to complete the western segment of Davis Park. Weeks expects to flip the pipeline tonight and begin to fill the eastern portion of the Davis Park. Double dredge operations will continue until mid-week and then one dredge will be move back to FI Pines. Repairs to the mono-buoy needed to pump the sand ashore in FI Pines were completed today under mild sea conditions.
Welcome to Fire Island …
a short trip by auto or train from New York City …
an even shorter ferry boat ride across Great South Bay … to miles of
Atlantic Ocean white sand beaches … home to the Fire Island National Seashore,
a few hundred year-round residents, and little else. Scattered over six of the island’s 32 miles are some 3,800 mostly seasonal single-family homes and businesses, including hotels and marinas. But no heliports, no gambling casinos – and no cars! Just the ocean, the bay, a wealth of interesting things to see and do ... a few fine restaurants … perfect pleasure for family, friends … and especially kids!
As the materials assembled here will attest, the Fire Island Association, in partnership with the National Seashore, works hard to preserve this place. Residents, owners, renters and visitors are welcome to join us.
Nicole Sharp reported that on Saturday pumping on the eastern segment of FI Pines commenced early in the morning when the pipeline was flipped from the western segment. [When the submerged pipeline brings sand onto the center of the beach, above-ground pipe directs it to one end of the project area. When that part of the project area is filled, the pipe is flipped and sand is moved to the other end. When the beach is filled, the pipe is removed and the beach is graded. -Ed.] Dredging operations were delayed for a few hours in the afternoon to make a minor repair to the subline. Final grading and dressing still needs to be done before the beach can be reopened to traffic from the West. Currently, pumping operations are in the vicinity of Neptune Walk. Pumping for Davis Park was expected to start Saturday night.
Nicole Sharp of CP&Ereports: Pumping continues in Fire Island Pines to complete the western portion of the segment. Weeks expects to be finished pumping the lower portion of the western segment by Friday night. Once the western portion of FI Pines is finished, the pipe will be flipped to complete the remaining eastern portion of FI Pines.
Weeks Marine also expects to place the submerged pipeline at Davis Park tomorrow (Friday). Once the subline is placed, pumping will commence in Davis Park.
Lastly, Weeks did a final sweep of Western Fire Island today and removed debris from the project area. Weeks will begin to remove the debris from FI Pines tomorrow and then the remaining reaches once dredging has started. We will inspect the work next time we pass through the reach.
|
Project Schedule for the 2008-9 Fire Island Renourishment Project |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
We are receiving questions about the schedule. The project schedule was a topic during the Inter-Municipal Working group meetings held on Feb 25 & 27 and March 4. This group is made up of representatives of the two Towns and two Villages that are taking part in the project . The schedule is being changed to support a permit modification request for a construction extension into April. The proposed schedule will minimize impact to natural resources such as piping plovers, which are the basis of a permit restrictions for a March 31 construction end date. This should make the permit modification more palatable to the agencies (FINS, FWS, Corps, NMFS, NYDEC..)
A final schedule is being developed for discussion at the next weekly construction meeting on March 11 2008. Weeks Marine Inc (WMI), Coastal Planning & Engineering Inc and Land Use will present a schedule for final refinement and approval by the committee. The schedule will probably be as follows: Completion of Davis Park and Fire Island Pines by the end of March and completion of the Central Reach ( Corneille Estate to Ocean Bay Park ) by the end of April. The schedule will also include provisions for removal of the contractor’s equipment by specific dates.
The permit modification request has been submitted by Land Use to the two Federal agencies and the State. The agencies reaction to this permit modification will have an influence on the final schedule.
A late start of construction, mechanical problems and weather are the primary recent reasons leading to a need for a modified permit and schedule.
Stephen Keehn, PE Senior Coastal Engineer Coastal Planning & Engineering, Inc 2481 NW Boca Raton Blvd. Boca Raton, Florida 33431 Phone 561-391-8102 (fax 9116) Mobile 561-441-5499 |
With both dredges working at Fire Island Pines, the beach had been filled to Coast Guard Walk by the weekend. More than 65,000 cubic yards of “excellent quality” sand has been placed at the Pines, according to Dr. Quin Robertson of Coastal Planning and Engineering. With double pumping, the Pines should be completed ahead of schedule and both dredges will then move to Davis Park, where the submerged pipeline is almost ready.
Equipment problems and brutal weather have combined to cause delay in the beach replenishment projects, but at this writing both dredges are in operation at Fire Island Pines. Weeks Marine (WMI) completed pumping sand in the Western Fire Island reach on Saturday and moved pipe and equipment to Fire Island Pines and Davis Park. The submerged pipeline (“sub-line” for short) is in place at the Pines and pumping began today with both dredges in operation as soon as the winds and high seas that accompanied the March 2 storm settled down. The sub-line that been used in the western reach will be taken directly to Davis Park (instead of to the central reach as planned) in order to be sure that the eastern-most community can be completed before any sign of Piping Plovers. An unexpected appearance by plovers could require the project to be shut down; most plover colonies are well east of the settled communities.
Both WMI dredges will be working in the Pines as the Davis Park site is prepared. Davis Park is only two-thirds the length of the Pines and there should be no trouble completing it by March 31, barring equipment breakdowns. As soon as Davis is completed the sub-line will be transferred to the central reach, where plover nesting has never been seen.
Winter weather is not conducive to beach building, but the risk to endangered species is too great to do it when seas are calmer (not to mention warmer). Had the project started in mid-November, as hoped, the March 31 completion date would not have been a problem. But permitting and bidding delays could not be avoided. WMI is working 24-7 to get the job done within the time allotted and has asked for the permit to be extended should that prove necessary.
Quin Robertson reported that Friday, February 6, saw 44 degrees with partly cloudy skies and choppy seas but good production, with fill operations approaching Marine Walk in Saltaire. (For photographs of the progress at Saltaire, use the links page on this website to connect to Saltaire Village or the SCAA; click on Beach Project Photos.) A total of 180,000 cubic yards of sand, based on bin estimate , had been placed in Fair Harbor and Saltaire through Saturday.
Sunday produced sunny skies and smooth seas. Production, delayed at 4 p.m. on Saturday due to a break in the link between the dredge and submerged line, resumed at 10 a.m. Fill operations continued near Marine Walk and on previously filled sections in the area. Regarding re-filled areas, lost sand is replaced by the contractor until after formal dredge surveys can attest that he has filled the template to the design specifications. . A total of 190,000 cubic yards based on bin estimate had been placed in Fair Harbor and Saltaire through Sunday.
The second dredge and a second survey crew were in operation on Monday, February 9. The photograph nearby shows the B.E. Lindholm (left ) attached to the submerged line and pumping sand while the fully loaded R.N. Weeks (right) waits its turn.
The photo at right shows the first load of sand (about 2500 cubic yards) being pumped onto the beach near the Fair Harbor-Saltaire border by Weeks Marine, Inc (WMI) on Wednesday, January 27. (Click on the photo for a larger image.) Another eight loads were pumped before the operation shut down due to rough seas at around 7:00 a.m. on Thursday. Dredging is expected to resume on Friday, when the storm should have passed. Pumping will go on 24/7, weather permitting, until all the projects are completed. The hopper dredge shown in the photo (the R.N. Weeks) is attached to a pumping station that moves the sand to the beach through a submerged line. The borrow area (sand source) is not where the vessel is sitting in the photograph, but approximately 1.6 miles southeast from the project location. The pumping platform will stay where it is until the western reach (Saltaire to Lonelyville) is completed. Then the submerged pipeline and floating hose will be relocated to the next (central) reach. A second pumping platform and submerged pipeline will be used for the Fire Island Pines and Davis Park projects, starting in mid-February.
The beach is now closed to driving, except for emergency vehicles, between the Kismet Cut and the Town of Islip Beach (Atlantique).
Coastal Planning & Engineering reports:
Dredging for the 2008-2009 Fire Island Beach Renourishment project is predicted to start as early as Saturday evening, or more likely sometime on Sunday, January 25, 2009, weather allowing. Construction will start in Fair Harbor, and move west initially. During the first day or two of pumping, the beach will be open to traffic. Once a substantial amount of sand is placed upon the beach, traffic must be detoured around the construction area, except for emergency vehicles. Traffic will be detoured to the inland road between Kismet Cut and the Town of Islip Beach cut to the east of Lonelyville. A detour sign will be placed at the Kismet cut.
During construction, scheduled to last a couple of months, detours and beach closures should be anticipated. Beach closures will occur in the following order: Western Fire Island Communities (Saltaire to Lonelyville), Fire Island Pines, Central Fire Island Communities (Cornielle Estates and Summer Club to Ocean Bay Park), and Davis Park.
Coastal Planning & Engineering Inc. will have a field representative (N. Sharp or Q. Robertson) on site during construction and can be reached locally at 631-387-7320 or at their main office 561-391-8102.
Alternating Points of contact for the dredger (Weeks Marine Inc.) are as follows:
Dean Robinson: 985-705-2970 for the next two weeks
Mike Ward: 985-237-5037
Weeks Marine can also be reached at their office in Bay Shore at: 631-328-5821
Fire Island
![Sun_on_catboat[1]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3146/3078555370_4de0627dcc_m.jpg)
Support Fire Island Association. |