Officials are considering a $10 million plan to curb erosion in the Village of Port Jefferson on the north shore of Long Island.
Tennis courts at the Port Jefferson Country Club are just a few feet away from a steep bluff overlooking Long Island Sound. Utility pipes from the club that are supposed to be underground can be seen from the beach below.
The village’s multimillion-dollar plan would install a steel wall at the bluff’s base and a rock revetment to absorb wave impact.
Other communities have put in vinyl walls to save money, but Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant said steel will last longer, especially in the face of increased intensity of storms due to climate change.
“The life expectancy of the wall is up to 50 years,” Garant said. “The vinyl they had said would be 10 to 15, and it's like a Band-Aid. It could be repaired — you could take out a piece of sheathing and replace it with another piece — but it wouldn't provide us with the stability that steel does.”
The state granted the village a permit to work at the bluff’s base, but rebuilding the top of the cliff will require additional approvals.
The village hopes to avoid borrowing money for the project by receiving state and federal funding.
