This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
02/28/2024 09:43 AMAfter nearly 10 years of planning and budgeting, work may soon begin on a redesigned and repaired Garvan Point.
Representatives from SLR International Corporation, the sustainability consulting company tasked with restoring the seawall at Garvan Point, hosted a public information session on Feb. 21, presenting final stage renderings and a timeline for the project's completion. According to Kishor Patel, manager of structural engineering for SLR and the project manager for the Garvan Point project, work should be completed before April 2025.
"They're supposed to bid this project out in early June, so it can be constructed over the winter, so you don't lose your summer months of the Point," Patel explained. "You would have this open again by the first of April next year. That's our goal."
The Garvan Point Improvement Project is a $1.5 million endeavor that, in addition to replacing the deteriorating seawall, would redesign the area to "preserve and enhance the Point," according to Megan Raymond, a wetland and coastal scientist for SLR.
"We want to improve the structural stability and provide protection in moving down the road in the future," Raymond said. "We want to preserve and enhance all the views and the viewports along the area. We would like to reduce the maintenance of those areas, particularly right behind the backside of the [sea]wall, and then we want to embrace the Point's natural appeal."
The overall master plan concept presented at the Feb. 21 information session includes an overlook deck with a "seat wall," the relocation or replacement of memorial benches, terraced seating with direct beach access, and landscaping improvements. Samantha Stewart, a project landscape designer for SLR, explained the two "main elements" of the concept.
"The first one is the overlook deck," Stewart said. "It's going to be at the primary point of the Point — the pinnacle, the nice view. This is going to be a great gathering space for people."
According to Stewart, the overlook deck is expected to be approximately 25 feet in diameter and will feature a "serpentine sculptural seat wall." The area would include a backdrop of native coastal grasses like blue stem or American beach grass.
The second element, Stewart said, is a terraced seating area that allows direct access to the beach.
"This is going to really help improve the access between the lawn and the beach, and it's also going to provide more seating," said Stewart.
The aesthetic improvements, however, are secondary to the project's primary goal: repairing the sea wall. The current sea wall that surrounds and supports Garvan Point is a structural steel wall covered in rust and riddled with holes.
"The existing structural wall or the bulkhead, whatever you want to call it, it's a sheet piling wall which has deteriorated over the years," Patel said. "There's a lot of section loss, and that's why you've been seeing a lot of these sinkholes behind it. The maintenance group has been working on it every storm they have. They usually get a sinkhole or more material leaves that spot."
Repairing the sea wall, however, means leaving the current wall in place and constructing a second barrier made of concrete.
"What we're going to do is leave the existing sheet piling bulkhead in place," Patel explained. "By permit, we're allowed to go 18 inches in front of it, and we're going to create another wall in front of it, so that will be our water control."
While the project carries a hefty $1.5 million price tag, First Selectman Peggy Lyons noted that $770,000 of funding comes courtesy of a state grant awarded to the town in 2021.
"The remaining [cost] is through the town CIP [Capital Improvement Plan]," Lyons explained. "This has been in the CIP for seven or eight or probably 10 years. We're grateful to get the state grant because the cost of this project obviously went up quite a bit over the last 10 years."
Patel said SLR hoped to submit all final applications to the state, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection by the end of February with the expectation of receiving approvals by the end of April or early May.
SLR's presentation is available on the town website at www.madisonct.org.