Funding OK'd for post-storm shoreline repairs

Repairs to Westport shoreline infrastructure in Westport by Tropical Storm Irene last year are set to move ahead this spring, after the Representative Town Meeting unanimously approved Tuesday an approximate $321,000 appropriation for those projects.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the town for 75 percent of the project costs. FEMA approved the repair work after town officials met with representatives from that agency and the state Department of Energy and Environment Protection to review the storm damage and to agree on repairs that would adhere to FEMA reimbursement guidelines.

The repair projects will include sidewalk and revetment work on Hillspoint Road; replacement of a retaining wall at Longshore Club Park; revetment and gutterline improvements on Harbor Road, and the replacement of a seawall at Burying Hill Beach.

The shoreline repairs are scheduled to be finished by early spring, in time for the start of this year's beach season, said Public Works Director Steve Edwards.

Contact Paul Schott at pschott@bcnnew.com; 203-255-4561, ext. 118.