DUXBURY, MASS. (WHDH) - With ocean waves still battering the coast and a second nor’easter in less than a week set to hit, crews in many coastal communities, including Duxbury, are feverishly working to repair broken seawalls.
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A 200-foot section of the seawall collapsed over the weekend near Cable Hill Road, allowing water to rush in around homes on the shoreline.
Construction crews brought in massive boulders Tuesday to help reinforce the wall, which was built in 1954, ahead of a storm on Wednesday that’s expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain.
DXFD and Duxbury Emergency Management will be hosting a press conference with town and state officials on Cable Hill Rd Duxbury at 1p today at the sight of a major sea wall collapse. pic.twitter.com/QruZEFB3dl
— Duxbury Fire PIO (@DXFD_PIO) March 6, 2018
“We have massive, massive destruction to our infrastructure here. This is a huge problem for the town,” Duxbury Town Manager René Read said Tuesday at a press conference.
It’s been a race to repair the wall because each high tide since the collapse has flooded the area.
“Because of the ramped up surf, the tide really never goes out for too long, so we have a very short window of opportunity to get on the beach,” said Peter Butkins, of the Duxbury DPW.
Homeowners have banded together to hire private contractors, but it’s a band-aide approach and the concern is whether the work will hold up.
“We’re nervous. We really are, but there’s nothing we can do,” resident Susan Nichols said.
There are seawall breaks in Marshfield along Ocean Avenue. A neighborhood in Green Harbor is still completely underwater.
Up the coast in Scituate, power is still out in some areas as the town gears up to combat another day of stormy weather. The town is also dealing with degraded seawalls.
Minor to moderate flooding is expected along the coast. A flood watch is in effect starting Wednesday and lasting into Thursday.
About 11,000 customers are still without power in Scituate, Norwell and Pembroke, among other areas.
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