West Haven Receives Money for Beach Replenishment

The City of West Haven is using a $1.25 million grant, received from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, to replenish beach sand on Beach Street and control beach erosion on Ocean Avenue.

“This grant will enable the city to finance two essential beach infrastructure projects at no cost to West Haven taxpayers,” Mayor Edward M. O’Brien said.

“These projects will restore areas of our publicly accessible shoreline that were decimated by nor’easters and storms, such as Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy.”

On January 26, O’Brien signed a contract with Waters Construction Co. to replenish a 500-foot stretch of beach along Beach Street with 24,000 tons of white beach sand from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The beach, across from the recently shuttered Chick’s Drive-in at 183 Beach St., has awaited an extensive repair ever since it was destroyed by the one-two punch of Irene in 2011 and Sandy in 2012.

The contractor is required to complete the $800,000 project by March 15, according to a permit the city secured from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Quadir said the city also obtained a permit from DEEP for the work, which is expected to begin shortly.

[mappress mapid=”21891″]