Repair approval for Asharoken seawall to take 'days'

It could be "a matter of days" before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decides whether to approve the interim repairs to the Asharoken seawall, the project manager said Friday.

If approved, the Corps will go to work right away on the seawall damaged by the March 13 nor'easter, said the manager, Ron Pinzon, who's with the Corps.

The repairs include fixing and replacing the armor stone, steel sheet piling and rocks, and then a concrete wall closest to land along the length of the 932-foot seawall.

"We're going to fix this as fast as we can," following the approval, Pinzon said.

He said the structure will remain in place, "until a long-term study can come up with a more comprehensive solution."

Asharoken Mayor Pat Irving said she was pleased the Corps was moving swiftly toward fixing its seawall, but more still needs to be done.

"We still need sand on the beach," Irving said. "The seawall will still have splash over and the dunes will have to be fixed along Asharoken Avenue. So replenishing the beach is still an issue."

Ken Wells, spokesman for the Corps, said the immediate focus is to repair the seawall.

"Any other issues we cannot address at this point," he said.

The Army Corps' New York office last week recommended to the national office that it finance the repair of the $1.5 million to $3.5 million plan.

Wells said the recommendations are still under review and must be approved by Corps officials in Washington, D.C.

"We're expecting it's not going to be a matter of weeks but a matter of days," Pinzon said. "At this moment we are not asking the state or village to pay for this."