SALISBURY — Crews placed truckload after truckload of sand on Salisbury Beach Tuesday in an effort to protect beachfront homes from flooding and high tides.
Beach replenishment project
The Beach Replenishment Project will strengthen areas of Salisbury Beach that were hit by a storm earlier this year. Rain, wind and high tide destroyed the sand wall that cost more than half a million dollars to build.
The new sand brings back that protection, something neighbor Ray Champagne is grateful for. “We have to try to stabilize the dunes as best we can; we have to replenish them. By the grace of God, Mother Nature will treat us fairly.”
The tons of sand are part of a $2 million project to protect homes like Champagne’s from flooding and high tides and to protect the wetland directly across the street.
A controversial project
Opponents say the sand is just a bandage and a more permanent solution is needed.
Champagne, however, is near the sand. “If we protect it and stabilize it as best we can, I think it will be worth it for everyone.”
State Senator Bruce Tarr said using projects like these to get ahead of climate crises before they happen. “We have two choices: we can either become victims of what is happening around us in terms of rising sea levels and climate change, or we can be proactive and be good stewards of the environment.”
Tarr said the residents he speaks with are united behind the idea of working to find solutions. ‘It’s important that we don’t wait for a storm; we are not waiting for erosion; we are not standing here in the middle of a snowstorm trying to save houses under very difficult conditions. It.”
Will all the sand just wash away?
The project’s designer said Mother Nature will take the piles of sand and move it exactly where it needs to be. He said residents should not be concerned if the accumulating sand piles disappear.
