One of New York’s poshest beach destinations is about to get some serious surgery.
At the end of Long Island, on the edge of the Hamptons, Montauk is set to soon undergo a coastal restoration project that’s decades in the making.
Since the 1950s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has been considering how to protect the 83 miles of flood-prone coastline from Fire Island to Montauk, and now the government group is set to finally begin work.
Local officials have expressed excitement about the development, which is intended to make the area’s vulnerable shores better equipped to weather future storms by adding sand, and widening the beach and dunes.
“It’s like putting a speed bump in front of Mother Nature,” East Hampton Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc recently reflected to Newsday of the 450,000 cubic yards of sand set to be added to the downtown Montauk oceanfront.
The town, Van Scoyoc added, “didn’t know it would take this long,” but are “very excited it’s coming now.”
Known as the Fire Island to Montauk Point project, the $1.7 billion endeavor was taken off the back burner and fast-tracked after Superstorm Sandy caused enormous damage to the area in 2012.
Montauk’s beach expansion is expected to take several months, and is slated to start this winter, as soon as the Army Corps completes an emergency restoration of the Fire Island-Moriches Inlet beach this fall, the East Hampton Star reported.
Excluding certain work areas, Montauk’s beach will remain open during the project, which will be paid for by a combination of the Army Corps, New York State and local municipalities.
“Having fought for this outcome we are thrilled by today’s announcement and the 30-year Montauk downtown coastal stabilization it will bring. Although not a long-term solution to protecting our beaches, dunes, and community, it is a critical medium-term step to allow all stakeholders time to develop a more comprehensive response plan,” Concerned Citizens of Montauk chairman David Freudenthal said in a statement earlier this month, according to the outlet.