THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511160713
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BARBARA KREISLER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
Willoughby Spit residents soon will be able to watch the shifting sand when the city starts dredging along the Chesapeake Bay beach at 14th and 15th View streets.
The project is expected to begin by early January and must be completed by March 30.
The latest action in Norfolk's 2-year-old Beach Management Plan, designed to shore up the city's most critically eroded shoreline areas, reflects more than a half-century of efforts to protect against erosion. The project recently received requisite approval from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Initially, the project called for excavating 41,200 cubic yards of sand that have stockpiled at the breakwater between 14th and 15th View streets and replenishing the public beachfront along 12th and 13th View streets, then eastward between 6th and 8th View streets. Dune replenishment is not planned.
But on Nov. 6, the project was scaled back and temporarily delayed because the only two bids, one submitted by a shoreline construction company and the other from a general contractor, exceeded available funds, said Steven Snyder, a Norfolk Public Works engineer. The appropriated amount was $240,000, shared between the city and the State Board on Conservation and Development of Public Beaches, which is providing matching grant funds.
To move the project forward, Snyder said, the city is expected to negotiate with the bidders about reducing the volume of sand to be excavated, and, of the two relocation sites, the 13th View Street area will get the lion's share.
``It is really important that this project be completed because we have a problem of beach erosion we want to address,'' Snyder said.
Regardless of the starting date, the completion deadline is March 30, 1996, unless the city and contractor agree to stop or interrupt the project until after Labor Day, Snyder said. While giving beach-goers the opportunity to enjoy the shore during the summer without interruption was a consideration, the primary concern was for the birds.
The possible hiatus was the result of a state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries restriction barring work during the breeding season of the least tern and black skimmer. According to Jay Lipscomb, a Virginia Marine Resources Commission environmental engineer, these are nesting birds whose reproductive success is reduced by the slightest human disturbance and who call home a sand bank that is formed by dredging. Neither of these species is endangered, but they are rare, according to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.
W. Keith Cannady, an environmental engineer for the city, described the project as ``routine.'' But he said that does not diminish its importance on beach protection and erosion management.
``We know we lose 1.5 to 2 feet of beach each year along the entire Spit, but these areas are the worst, with some portions having less than 30 feet of beachfront,'' Cannady said. ``We don't have enough sand to cover the entire Spit, and these areas present the most potential for danger to residential structures.''
The excavated sand is expected to double the size of existing beachfront but will require periodic replenishing because of the natural action of the water that shifts the sand and continually reclaims the beach. According to Snyder, the city plans to construct another series of breakwaters eastward of this project, but no timetable or funding mechanism is in place yet.
``We believe this tactic presents a long-term solution to beach erosion,'' Snyder said of the manmade barriers.
Richard Harrison, chairman of the city's Wetlands Board and the Erosion Advisory Commission and owner of Willoughby Bay Marina, concurs.
``The areas that have been targeted in this project are particularly vulnerable, and conditions present a danger to homeowners,'' he said. ``We also have to do something with the sand or else we will lose it because of its natural migration westward.''
This project will mark the first time that the city has recycled sand from Willoughby and reused it in the same area. The concept may not mean much to some people, but Willoughby Spit residents have been very protective of their sand in the past.
``It's such a fragile area, and there's such a desperate need along the entire beach. I'm at least glad they can bring some sand up,'' said Laura Lyons, a lifelong Willoughby Spit resident and past president of the Willoughby Civic League. ``I have friends living just below 6th View, and I know they're going to be more than disappointed that this project won't be reaching them. I also know that there's a desperate need for replenishment between 10th and 13th View streets.'' by CNB