Town of Southampton, NY October 10, 2023 — The Town of Southampton Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management has been advised by the Suffolk County Department of Public Works (DPW) that the dredging project near the Shinnecock Inlet will be commencing today. This project will necessitate areas of restricted access for the purposes of public safety.
In an effort to fortify the beach and dune area on the West side of the Shinnecock Inlet, Suffolk County DPW will be commencing a dredging project that will be depositing approximately 80,000 cubic yards of sand. Sand will be deposited on the beach as well as certain stockpile locations in the County Park area next to the Inlet. The project is expected to start today, October 10, 2023 and may take three to four weeks to complete barring any unforeseen issues. Weather conditions and other factors may impact that timeline.
During the time that the project will be taking place, the beach area impacted by the project will be closed to pedestrian and four-wheel-drive vehicle access. The restricted area runs along the ocean beach from approximately Road I to the Inlet. Signage and fencing will be temporarily put into place to indicate the restricted access areas and warn visitors of the restrictions. The access restrictions are for public safety purposes and will be enforced by the Town of Southampton. The beach area of restricted access is indicated in red outline and red hash marks on the attached map image.
During the time that the project will be taking place there will also be construction vehicles, shifted traffic patterns and limited parking in the area of the Suffolk County parking area on the West side of the Inlet. A single lane access point has been created over the dredge pipe (indicated in yellow on the attached map image) to try to preserve access to as much of the parking lot as possible. Individuals and drivers visiting the site are asked to use extreme caution due to some of these temporary changes.
This dredge project is an important factor in maintaining the resiliency of the beach area on the West side of the Shinnecock Inlet as we embark on the winter storm season.
