A major Oak Bluffs project to reinforce the eroding East Chop bluff is back before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, which approved a previous version of the plan in 2018 and later granted an extension to 2026.
The town now has federal funding to begin the work this fall, but needs the commission to sign off on an updated project plan designed by engineering contractors Tighe & Bond, who were hired after the initial approval.
“We found some significant constructability and safety issues with that [previously permitted] design,” company project manager Daniel Ciaramicoli told the commission at a public hearing Jan. 16.
The earlier plan, he said, called for removing the current timber bulkhead and stone revetment that form a retaining wall down to the sea, leaving the bluff unsupported against waves and wind.
“That doesn’t seem like a very smart idea [and] could leave the site vulnerable to damage during a storm,” Mr. Ciaramicoli said.
Tighe & Bond is instead proposing to build over the existing remnants of the retaining structures, he said, a process that would include cutting back the slope at the bluff’s southern end to create a temporary access road for construction equipment.
The new design also calls for a temporary pier, at the base of the bluff, for barges to deliver equipment and materials and receive existing soil and rock that will need to be moved during the project.
The alternative, Mr. Ciaramicoli said, would be delivery by existing roads — an estimated 60 to 80 truck trips a day at the peak of activity, he said.
The land-based approach also would require a commercial pier to receive equipment and materials barged from the mainland, with R.M. Packer Co.’s Vineyard Haven terminal the only potential option.
“There is no deal in place. It is unclear if they can handle it,” Mr. Ciaramicoli said of the Packer operation.
In written opinions, both the Oak Bluffs shellfish constable and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries have expressed concern about the loss of marine life — including eelgrass, quahaugs, bay scallops and blue mussels — from constructing the pier, MVC coordinator Richard Salzberg told the commission.
“Marine Fisheries recommended a land-based delivery route, as opposed to a marine route,” Mr. Salzberg said.
The Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency, which issued a permit for the revised project late last year, was provided with the fisheries division’s letter as part of the permit application, he said.
The challenges of docking barges at one of the Vineyard’s most exposed stretches of coastline, particularly in the stormy off-season when most work would be performed, represent another planning concern, Mr. Salzberg told commissioners.
Stretching along about 2,400 feet of shoreline, the East Chop project would nearly double the size of the bluff’s revetment, from 40,000 square feet to 77,650 square feet.
The goal of the work is to preserve public access to the bluff and its sweeping views from East Chop Drive, much of which has been closed to motor traffic since early 2018 due to worsening erosion.
As part of the plan, Tighe & Bond proposes to replace and relocate drainage outfall pipes, eradicate non-native plants such as invasive Japanese knotweed, replant the bluff with native species and create an recreational pathway, accessible for those with disabilities, from East Chop Drive to the waterside below.
The entire project, Mr. Ciaramicoli said, would take about 15 months of off-season work, which has been divided into two phases for funding purposes.
With a $10 million Federal Emergency Management Agency grant awarded in 2022 and other funds approved by Oak Bluffs voters, the town now has enough money for the project’s first phase, covering the southernmost 1,200 linear feet of coastline as far as Harrison avenue and the infrastructure changes needed for all 2,400 feet.
Assistant town administrator Wendy Brough said Oak Bluffs officials are pursuing permits and funding from both state and federal agencies for the second phase, which would stabilize the bluff from Harrison avenue to Monroe avenue.
The East Chop Association has agreed to let the town use the association’s Lincoln Park as a staging area for the work, Mr. Ciaramicoli said.
The Martha’s Vineyard Commission is accepting written comments on the East Chop bluffs proposal until 5 p.m. on Feb. 7.
The applicants next meet with the commission’s land use planning committee Feb. 10 for a post-public hearing discussion of project details, before returning to the full commission at a subsequent Thursday meeting.
