NARRAGANSETT, RI - The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District are working together to complete a repair project at the popular Camp Cronin Fishing Area and overlook site at Point Judith in Narragansett. Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to the area surrounding Camp Cronin and washed out a portion of the access road that runs from Ocean Road to the jetty. The project will re-establish public access to the entire shoreline area of Camp Cronin and to the jetty, which is a widely-used fishing area.
The second phase of the Camp Cronin stone revetment and East Shore Arm breakwater repair project will begin next week. Visitors will have to leave their vehicles behind when visiting the site from mid-October until mid-May 2016 as construction work resumes after the 2015 recreational season to complete the project. The duration of closure of the Camp Cronin Fishing Area to vehicular access will be on or about Oct. 13, 2015 to May 15, 2016 while the construction project is underway. The location of the closure is the access road off of Ocean Road to the Camp Cronin Fishing Area (as shown on the attached map).
Pedestrian access will be allowed for the duration of the construction project. A construction fence will delineate a four-foot wide pedestrian pathway on the east side of the access road from Ocean Road. This pathway will allow access to the Point Judith Fisherman's Memorial.
The project will be completed under the terms of a $8,449,750 contract awarded on Aug. 27, 2014 by the Corps of Engineers to RC&D, Inc., of Pawtucket, RI. RIDEM will be funding approximately $3,400,420 of the contract amount through a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Disaster Recovery - Community Development Block Grant administered by the Rhode Island Department of Administration. This portion will cover the construction of the revetment on state property.
The construction project started in late October 2014 with a projection of 19 months to complete, over two construction seasons (Oct. 1, 2014 to May 15, 2015 and Oct. 1, 2015 to May 15, 2016) to avoid impact to recreation.
"The work to construct the ocean shoreline stone revetment at the Camp Cronin fishing area in Narragansett was completed in May 2015. The contractor demobilized from the site so that Camp Cronin Fishing Area and overlook site could be used during the summer recreational season. In mid-October, the contractor will mobilize on site to begin constructing emergency repairs to the adjacent East Shore Arm Breakwater of the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge Federal navigation project," said Corps of Engineers Project Manager Jennifer Flanagan. "The existing shoreline and breakwater were both damaged during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012."
"The construction of the shoreline protection at Camp Cronin was a tremendous success, rendering the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy almost a distant memory," said RIDEM Director Janet Coit. "This site is one of Rhode Island's gems. This project is both a visual and structural enhancement that will safeguard the area during future storm events."
During the first portion of the project, shoreline revetment work was performed that involved excavation, furnishing and placing gravel bedding, stone filter materials, underlayer stone, 2-ton stone, armor stone, cobble fill, crushed stone, and parking lot fill. Work involved removing, stockpiling, and resetting existing cobble and boulders that were at the site. Repairs to the breakwater will require the furnishment, delivery, and placement of new armor stone (up to 15-tons per stone) to replace stones displaced during Hurricane Sandy, and the filling in of existing gaps and low points along the breakwater.
The repairs will be performed to restore the breakwater to the original profiles and cross-sections. Repairs will require substantial moving and manipulation of both new and existing stones to achieve both the required interlocking placement and design grades. The project will be managed by the Corps under the supervision of a Corps' Quality Assurance Representative to assure compliance with contract requirements.
Here is a link to the map that shows the area restricted to vehicles: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/Topics/CampCronin/CampCroninMap.pdf.
Questions regarding the vehicle access restriction can be directed to Andres Aveledo of RIDEM at 401-222-4700 ext. 7235 or Jennifer Flanagan of USACE at 978-318-8015.