Engineers present Milton shoreline plans
Milton’s engineering firm provided town council with a report estimating that the cost of rehabilitating the shoreline around Memorial Park would cost north of $1 million.
Brian Miller, engineer with Pennoni Associates, told council that the proposed project would repair displaced rip rap, protect a currently unprotected stormwater outfall pipe and limit erosion.
Town officials and Pennoni have been discussing the project on and off since 2022. The town worked with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to get a $45,000 planning grant to come up with a project, which was received in 2023. Preliminary designs were sent to DNREC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for review.
Miller said the shoreline starts at Behringer Avenue and then goes around toward the library. Within that area, he said, are three areas designated as wetlands but he is not sure how healthy those wetlands are. Additionally, there are areas of the shoreline of the park where the erosion is very steep with exposed soil, as well as rip rap that has been displaced, with boulders shifted and moved by the tides.
Miller said the design plans include protections for outfall pipes that have become exposed by erosion. From there, the wetlands will be restored and the rip rap will be fixed by using larger, heavier stones, Miller said. There is also the intention of creating a living shoreline with vegetative buffers at different points along the shoreline.
The aim of the project, Miller said, was to improve the shoreline and stop erosion but also maintain public access.
Miller said the overall costs for the project is estimated at $1.1 million. He said Pennoni and town officials have begun examining the possible use of grant funding to finance the project. As of right now, there is no timetable for when the town would want to begin the project as the ability to do it is contingent on funding. Part of the project could include changes to the sidewalks around the shoreline and rehabilitating the town’s marina, but town officials have said those projects will have to come after the shoreline is stabilized.
