Work along Kennebunk’s beaches is expected to begin sometime in December with restoration of about 1,065 feet of stone along Beach Avenue between Boothby Road and the Narragansett. Another project involving replacement of about 620 feet of seawall along Gooch’s Beach will start once materials have been secured. The majority of funding for both comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Rolla Wells courtesy photo
KENNEBUNK – Another portion of seawall work along Kennebunk’s beaches is expected to begin sometime in late December with restoration of about 1,065 feet of stone along Beach Avenue between Boothby Road and the Narragansett.
The Select Board Nov. 10 approved a bid by BREX Corp. of Kennebunk for $820,000 for the work, the bulk of which will be paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Kennebunk’s portion of the project is $82,000. The state picks up $123,000 of the tab.
BREX Corp. delivered the lowest of eight bids for the project; with the most expensive coming in at $2.1 million.
All the bids came in well over what FEMA had originally estimated. Working through the Maine Emergency Management Agency, the town worked out the three-way formula for federal, state, and local contributions.
Director of Community Development and town engineer Chris Osterrieder said the design process for the Middle Beach project revealed that two principal areas of the revetment (or retaining wall) require reconstruction to integrate themselves into the shoreline, and the remaining work involves removing inadequately-sized stone and replacing it with larger stone, he said.
He said the town plans to file preconstruction permits this week and anticipates a late December start of construction, with work wrapping up in May.
The project is separate from other seawall repairs awarded to a different company in September for Gooch’s Beach. While that project will be under contract in November, the actual start date depends on when the materials for the project arrives said Osterrieder.
The Gooch’s Beach project involves replacement of 620 feet of timber seawall with a steel sheet pile wall and associated restoration of the sidewalk and roadway. The new seawall will be located behind the existing one.
The $1.3 million Gooch’s Beach project is largely paid by FEMA; the town’s responsibility is $133,000, or 10 percent, he said. Maine Emergency Management Agency contributes 15 percent.
The project was developed following a damaging storm in March 2018. SumCo Eco Contracting of Peabody, Massachusetts, submitted the low bid, which was accepted unanimously by the Select Board in September.
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