Army Corps Proposes Repair to Stonington Harbor East Breakwater (USA)

March 1, 2012

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District is proposing to perform repairs to the east breakwater of the Stonington Harbor Federal Navigation Project in Stonington, Conn.

The Corps estimates that approximately 3,000 tons of new stone will be needed to restore the damaged sections of the east breakwater to its authorized dimensions.

“Several sections of the breakwater incurred significant damage during Tropical Storm Irene, resulting in a loss of protection to the harbor,” said Project Manager Mike Walsh, of the Corps’ New England District, Programs/Project Management Division. “The proposed work will restore damaged sections of the breakwater to authorized dimensions.”

The work involves repairing damaged areas of the breakwater by placing additional stone and/or retrieval and re-use of displaced stones which have been dislodged from the structure.

“Work is anticipated to take approximately two to four months to complete and is currently scheduled to start in the fall of 2012,” Walsh said. The last repair to the east breakwater was in 1958 when approximately 4,000 tons of stone were placed on the structure to bring it to its authorized dimensions. The Town of Stonington is the local sponsor for the proposed project.

The breakwater was originally constructed between December 1880 and November 1894. The east breakwater is a 2,900-foot-long rubble mound structure comprised of a 2,300-foot-long main section with a crest height of 9.0 feet above Mean Low Water (MLW), a crest width of 12 feet, a seaward slope of 1 on 2, and a harbor side slope of 1 on 1; and a 600-foot-long low crest section over Bartlett’s Reef with a crest elevation at Mean High Water (2.75 feet MLW), a crest width of 8 feet, a seaward slope of 1 on 2, and a harbor side slope of 1 on 1.

The Corps estimates it will cost approximately $500,000 to $1,000,000 to repair the east breakwater. The project will be entirely funded by the federal government.

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Dredging Today Staff, March 1, 2012