The stairs leading to Willard Beach on Deake Street will be rebuilt as early as next summer, nearly a decade after the city started pursuing the project. 

The city received $480,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to build a new staircase and seawall at the southernmost entrance to the beach. The city will kick in $160,000 for the project. 

“It’s going to look completely different over the course of the next few years,” said Karl Coughlin, the director of parks and recreation. 

The new design will be better suited to survive the elements, Coughlin said, and support climate resilience in the area. The seawall will nearly double in length, and a new concrete stairwell and ramp will be added. The 150-foot stone embankment will be replaced to protect the dunes. 

The existing stairs, which had been damaged by storms and erosion, pose a safety risk, according to Coughlin.

The staircase is currently blocked off by orange and white barricades at the top and bottom. The bottom few steps have eroded, leaving a large drop-off. The nearby ramp – a steep concrete slab resting on rusty metal posts – is all but obstructed by a parking barricade, and its base sits at least a foot off the sand, making it unnavigable for wheelchair users. 

If the entryway is left in its current state and if a retaining wall fails, Deake Street and the water and sewer lines buried underneath could be at risk, according to Owen McCollough, the engineer who wrote the grant proposal. The existing ramp and stairs would likely collapse from continued erosion, he wrote. 

Residents have been concerned with the safety of the beach entryway for years. A public forum in late 2017 prompted city officials to apply for grant funding the following year, Coughlin said. The project wasn’t funded then, but the city kept at it, applying for grants whenever possible.

“Now we’re on the one-yard line,” Coughlin said.

Councilor Natalie West, who lives on Deake Street, said she’s been advocating for improved infrastructure at this spot since before she was on the council. Originally, the city just wanted to replace the stairs, which would have been below the projected high tide line. Neighbors advocated for something more resilient. 

“It will vastly improve access at that part,” she said, both for people who use wheelchairs and for people launching kayaks or paddleboards.