photos: Long Beach April 5, 2024
photos: Long Beach status April 2, 2024 https://goodmorninggloucester.com/2024/04/02/long-beach-seawall-conditions-2024/
Surfers and seawall after the storm. Long Beach.
Tag: seawall
Long Beach seawall status. Storm damage photos 2024.
Photo series journaling the impact from the 2023-24 winter storms and tides. Much of the wall and walkway look great.
The packed soil walkway atop the Long Beach seawall shows a loss of 1″ to 6″ vertical height, scraped for stretches along most of the wall (and more than a foot high loss by the old hotel). There are new and old potholes and cracks in the concrete sections beneath the handrail, and a single rapidly enlarging sinkhole at the footbridge end which is ready for a caution cone or barrel.
photo series: year vs. year comparisons
pinch and zoom to enlarge; right click for description
2024 seawall status
2022 vs. 2024
There are a few repeat vulnerable spots that have not grown rapidly (unlike the one in the photo block above).
2018-2024. How the Same spot changed over 5+ years
After a trio of March storms in 2018, the seawall pathway collapsed in two sections, revealing gaping chasms beneath (later filled). Fissures, cracks and seasonal pothole wear and tear were numerous. Thanks to immediate major repairs, the hollow underbelly sections were filled and packed down and the walkway widened pretty much the entire seawall. Rip rap boulders were shuffled into temporary pyres as extra wall support on the beach side.
photo caption: Same spot. Unlike the pathway which changed significantly, find the railing post to note the rough concrete chunk jutting out that has not changed.
Detail of the 2022 dislodged piece before/after
In 2019 major support was completed
In 2019, hundreds of tons of boulders were added strategically, and later an impressive quantity of sand. Unsurprisingly the sand was devoured by tides and storms–even on the very day it was deposited, swept straight away. The rip rap–mostly unchanged–and new walkway have held.
Seawall corner by the footbridge before 2018 vs. 2019 after added boulders
Boulder pile 2019 still here 2024. The big rocks work.
Aftermath of trio of 2018 storm damage
Before the 2018 winter storm trio, people discussed the pros and cons about raising the height of the seawall, removing it, and so on. After the major upgrades in 2018 and 2019, a town committee was established to study future options for the Long Beach cottages and seawall which wrapped up March 2022.
The 2024 Rockport Annual Town Meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2024.
The detailed Long Beach seawall schematics from 2020 can be found here:
Rockport DPW does annual maintenance. I can’t find updated plans and diagrams about the scope of the proposed next phase of the Long Beach seawall project, but will add them here if I do. Based on the estimated 2.8M award reported in the FEMA press announcement May 4, 2023 to be combined with the town’s match of 1.3M, perhaps it was solely repair and maintenance, and spots that had not been addressed in 2018 and 2019. It’s a long seawall! The 2020 schematic labels 350 feet of wall from roughly #58-#70 as damaged. After the path was tamped down, the bowing was visible.
After this winter, there are new additions (e.g. the vertical loss on the path and that sinkhole). That 2023 press release described a deeper wall section slated for reinforcement, but it doesn’t indicate how long or diagram where. It describes new stairs on the Gloucester side relocated within Rockport. I believe that the replacement stairs installed after the 2018 storm damage were temporary (still standing).
Rockport DPW response is swift and sure. Other than the sand, the infrastructure repairs and maintenance are strong and steady and coordinated with state and federal assistance.
- throwback: 2018 emergency repairs photo journal here https://goodmorninggloucester.com/2018/05/25/long-beach-status-sand-creeps-back-no-stairs-seawall-storm-damage-continues/
- throwback July 14, 2017: piece about Long Beach seasons of sand shifting and seawall. 2012 was a bad year for sand loss.It’s come back and gone again since.
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Gray to Glorious #GloucesterMA waves today
photo caption: 3/10/2024 at about high tide, views from Gloucester and Rockport, Long Beach, Twin Lights. Before the sun came out, the wind was strong enough this morning to move a portapotty off site 100′ down a street. Later, when the sun broke, waves in the surf matched up with a cloud filled blue sky.
porta potty almost put back to construction site. gray sky on left. blue sky hours later
Video clips: Long Beach 2024, March 10
-loading a few-
From the seawall, ricochet wave rolls
From Cape Ann Motor Inn
Photos above: C. Ryan 3/10/2024
March 9, 2024: The gray days are pretty, too. Snow buntings still about.
snow bunting dips- flying down from cottages over rip rap on the beach and back up again
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Little buddy joined the walk
We had some company on a beautiful day! Did you see a praying mantis, too?
photos| video clip: praying mantis walking, Long Beach walkway Oct. 27, 2023
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Storm walk on Long Beach after high tide backed off seawall. #winterstorm
Dec. 23, 2022
Views from winter storm walk an hour after high tide when the splash over waves settled back from the Long Beach seawall. The waves are not as huge as some storms. Still, stair and platform debris at both ends of the beach. Surge pushed back into the street. This is the 2nd of 3 high tides in the forecast.
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Rockport DPW Removes Long Beach Stairs and Footbridge access
Long Beach, Nov. 10, 2022
This year, several of the stairs had to be dug out several feet for removal.
Sign of winter coming: Saratoga Creek footbridge severed access between Cape Hedge and Long Beach until spring returns.
Sand is covering the rip rap in November 2022, not as high as 2011, and deposited the entire stretch. Sand depth shifts on Long Beach. Read more here in an older post from 2017.
Nov 2021, Nov 2020
Seawall repair October 2022 Before | After
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sugared dune grass and ice blasted following Friday’s winter storm #GloucesterMA
Feb. 5, 2022 Long Beach (Rockport and Gloucester, MA.) snapshots about 8am.
How much snow?
Stone and metal surfaces are ice blasted with a fresh snow dusting 1/2″ – 2″ between Long Beach and Good Harbor Beach. By daylight, the coastal rocky shoreline between the beaches would normally reveal a highway of wildlife tracks and drama. There were none today which means the rocks are thick slick coated. Instead it’s the natural surfaces- -grass, sand, brush– worn and riveted. When they’re not icy, wildlife favor those bare surfaces.
View out the windows- glazing is ice blasted
ice, ice railing | pics show metal, glass and stone vs. grass, sand, etc to give an idea of what’s out there
Want to identify local wildlife from winter tracks in the snow?
Wonderful children’s picture book
Let’s Go! Animal Tracks in the Snow! by Diane Polley with illustration by Marion Hall
and pocket guide by http://www.masswildlife.org
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Snowblower on Long Beach seawall. Digging out after the January 29 blizzard #RockportMA
Don’t see that everday. Digging out after the storm.
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My favorite kind of dusting 😉. Snow- Long Beach, January 21 2022
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High Tide today! Long Beach #RockportMA #GloucesterMA nov. 6 2021
Running out of beach today
photos about an hour before high tide 11/6/2021
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The Morning After- next day storm waves
The Long Beach walkway was dry this morning: Storm Teddy did not surge up and over the seawall. Light debris was deposited on nearly spotless Long Beach. Beautiful rollers were distant as the tide was heading out.
photos 9/23/2020- click to enlarge to full size
Spotted less than ten shorebirds, three species. These tiny birds are migrating from the arctic and landing to rest and refuel. Give them space if you see them! The few I spotted were flushed off.
A smile path helps wildlife. Walk around (or pause if you have the time)
Shorebird visitors hanging out together today (sanderlings, semipalmated sandpipers and semipalmated plovs). Easy to add a smile path when you spot them.
Below L-R: Sanderlings, semipalmated sandpipers, and semipalmated plover visiting 2020
Scenes of waves from Storm Teddy yesterday 9/22/2020 here
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Happy Fourth! Flags and porches along the Long Beach boardwalk ‘Little Boulevard’
A ‘little boulevard’ – flags and porches, front cottages, Long Beach summer
and bonus red,white,blue thanks to glass fishing floats
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Motif Monday: 3 Long Beach cottages off season construction
Side by side photographs: BEFORE (April 2017) / DURING CONSTRUCTION on the 8s (October 2019) Stay tuned for After.
88 Long Beach
68 Long Beach
Behind 28 Long Beach
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Motif Monday: Signs of Summer Long Beach cottages
What’s in a name? For these front row cottages it’s the charm of Long Beach all the way. What would you use?
Compare with April 2017 see 74 Long Beach front row cottages in less than a minute slowed down version “Coastal Living: Long Beach walk combines ocean view, front row cottages and beach” here
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Long Beach walkway construction chugging along, and no dogs until Sept. 15th
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Long Beach seawall walkway construction continues – widening and extending path to Rockport end
In 2018 Rockport widened much of the Long Beach seawall walkway beginning at the Gloucester side and stretching past the midpoint. Recently crews began extending this project straight through to the end point on the Rockport side. The work is expected to be completed in a couple of weeks.
Rocky explained it’s done in segments and moving right along.
Besides this big project, the getting ready for summer bustle is in full swing. Annual staircase return? Check! Front row cottage work? Check! New patio and masonry work by the former hotel (photos 2018 vs 2019 below) where the stone patio was compromised, various yardwork and private deck repairs are visible along the promenade.
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Winter repair is coming | new holes, cracks, and breaks along Long Beach seawall
Town Begins to shore up Long Beach seawall, by Michael Cronin, Gloucester Daily Times
Plenty of prior GMG posts (search “Long Beach seawall”); here are a few:
REPAIRING LONG BEACH ROCKPORT MASS AFTER STORM DAMAGE|BUSY NEW ENGLAND DPW CREWS April 2018
Seawall damage coverage GMG post May 25, 2018
FILL RAKE AND ROLL- NEXT STEPS IN THE LONG BEACH SEAWALL STORM REPAIR June 2018
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Fill rake and roll- next steps in the Long Beach seawall storm repair
What a stunner day for the next phase of the Long Beach seawall repair. They’re loading and raking in fill to level the walkway today. Roller still to come.
speedy backing up
this way and that still to come
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Shoring up the Long Beach seawall: readying concrete forms and walkway
Phases of storm repair continue.
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Long Beach cottage-side lane is widened for seawall repairs
Photos show the next stage in the seawall repair on the walkway (what the white spray paint meant). The promenade is two lanes: the ocean lane is a bit higher for now. Hooray!~more staircases are passable.
Good Morning Gloucester 