The federal government’s long-planned project to protect 83 miles of shoreline along Long Island’s South Shore is set to begin next year, according to Newsday.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the aptly named “Fire Island to Montauk Point” project, or FIMP, will cost $1.5 billion. The funding was allocated after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The storm, although it was no longer a hurricane when it reached the South Fork, damaged thousands of structures and upended the local real estate market.
The project calls for a number of smaller actions including dredging, coastal restoration and raising or flood-proofing 4,500 structures along the shoreline. The first contract is for dredging Fire Island Inlet and relocating the sand to near Gilgo Beach in Babylon Town, according to Newsday. [Newsday] — Dennis Lynch