Politics & Government

Bleak Outlook for Georgica Beach, But Work Underway on Road-End

Village tries to replace Georgica with Wiborg's for swimmers.

With just a few weeks until the unofficial start of summer, work has begun to fix last summer.

Repairs to the road-end are underway, but there's not much that can be done right now to right the erosion on the beach itself, according to village administrator Larry Cantwell.

"We planned to and we are going to now do the work at the end of the road, to build the road-end up to what it was before," Cantwell said on Monday. The road-end collapsed during the height of the storm, when there was a tidal surge and erosion that caused the asphalt to break apart.

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Aid from the the to in February for the road-end and replenishment work.

The village has the necessary permits from the town trustees and the Department of Environmental Conservation to reclaim 20 feet of the road-end. Some sand is being brought in to make the transition from the top of the road down to the beach smoother, Cantwell said.

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"It's not a beach replenishment projet that's going to bring Georgica Beach back," he said.

The beach conditions have not improved as village officials had hoped and don't expect it will be open as a bathing beach this summer. "I can't say I'm optimistic at all. I think at the moment we are at wait and see mode," he said.

Memorial Day weekend is around the corner and the village has been trying to make arrangements for another bathing beach to replace losing Georgica.

"At the moment, we're trying to get a permit from the county health department to operate a lifeguard beach at ," for the past few months, Cantwell said. He is hopeful the permit will come through around Memorial Day weekend.

The village had been concerned that without opening another protected beach, Main Beach would get even more people. Parking is also a concern, Cantwell said, as Wiborg's has about 50 less than spaces than Georgica.

In that case, portable bathrooms would be brought to the Wiborg's parking lot and lifeguards would be stationed there instead. The bathrooms at Georgica would still be opened, but the beach would be prohibited to swimmers.

Cantwell said the village will wait to see if the beach builds back up on its own in the next month. "We certainly would be open to consider a project that would include property owners and the village," he said. "You're talking about multi-million project."

Meanwhile, 27East reported a Georgica Beach homeowner and her contractor pleaded not guilty in East Hampton Town Justice Court on Monday . For more on that story click here.


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