Towers Road dune getting new fencing

Delaware Seashore State Park’s Towers Road oceanside beach will see about 1,500 linear feet of new dune fencing.

In an email Jan. 23, Michael Globetti, spokesman for Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said the agency’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section beach crew started replacing old fencing in November. He said maintenance for the dune fence was last done in 2016, after two major nor’easters caused extensive damage.

Globetti said the primary purpose of the fence is to guide pedestrians and vehicles to designated dune crossovers, while the environmental benefit of the fencing is that it helps build the dunes, protecting inland habitat and infrastructure by building up windblown sand.

However, Globetti said, in some instances, sand buildup can make crossovers too steep, which was the case with the crossings at Towers Road. He said a DNREC crew graded each crossing using rope which will allow sand to blow through the crossings instead of accumulating within them.

Globetti said each roll of fence is 50 feet long, with cedar posts spaced 10 feet apart and driven 4 feet into the sand. Globetti said labor, equipment and material costs are approximately $10,000.

Globetti said dune fencing can last up to 10 years under ideal conditions, but the typical lifespan is 3 to 4 years. He said the tentative completion for the project is May.

Dune fencing isn’t the only improvement the Towers Road beach will see this off-season. Globetti said, the project area will also be planted with beach grass during DNREC’s 30th annual Beach Grass Planting event Saturday, March 16.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a cost estimate.