Suffolk County DPW crews restored a 750 foot stretch of dune along Dune Road in Hampton Bays damaged from Wednesday night’s storm that caused high winds and flooding. PSEG Long Island suspended power to the area east of Ponquogue Beach to the inlet this morning to allow the heavy equipment operations. Crews began work at 7am this morning in preparation of the 10am high tide. In that three hour period they positioned approximately 1000 cubic yards of sand in the vulnerable areas of the dune. Crews then continued moving additional sand during the early afternoon. Town of Southampton Highway workers assisted the County in this latest effort to shore up the dune.
The work was performed under a local state of emergency declared by Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, Wednesday, in advance of the storm. This is the second such order in a week. Last week, Suffolk DPW and State DOT crews worked tirelessly to restore the same section of dune opposite the Shinnecock Commercial Fishing Dock.
An emergency Suffolk County beach replenishment project is currently being planned to start in two to four weeks that will dredge 90 thousand cubic yards of sand to rebuild the beach and dune line. However, it is hoped that the Army Corps of Engineers will position a dredge already off the coast of Long Island into our area and perform an even more significant dredging operation.
Dune Road is located on a vital barrier island that protects the mainland during storms and is home to one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in New York State. “Protecting it from a breach is a high priority,” said Supervisor Schneiderman. “I want to thank the County once again for taking the leadership role in this emergency.”
