Rock revetment added to ease threat to road along Goldsmith Inlet
Town workers began shoring up the east side of Mill Road in Peconic alongside Goldsmith Inlet last week, though the project was put on hold briefly late in the week until more rocks were delivered.
Town engineer Jamie Richter, who has been operating a rented excavator at the site along with highway department workers, said Monday that the original budget for the project had been cut nearly in half, leaving the crew without enough rocks to complete the revetment.
The original budget was $80,000, he said, but it was cut to $45,000.
“I think we can bring it in under $55,000,” he said Monday, while awaiting delivery of more three- to five-ton boulders.
The finished rock wall will extend 100 feet down from eastern edge of Mill Road, where it will shore up the road and neighboring residences to protect against flooding.
“It’s primarily there to stop erosion and prevent the road from being lost,” Mr. Richter said.
The dynamics of the inlet have changed in the past year, as a narrower, deeper dredging led to more water flowing through the inlet.
The town opted not to dredge the inlet this January, as is usually done, causing a small spit of sand to grow along the edge of the rock jetty on the west side of the inlet.
“That’s typically what happens when we don’t dredge in January,” said Mr. Richter. “It’s not creating problems at the moment, and with the seasons changing, the normal northeast winds are subsiding. We should be able to get through the season.”
