Long Islanders tour New Bedford hurricane barrier as example of flood prevention

April 24--NEW BEDFORD -- Compared to the nightmare of serious flooding, the cost of a hurricane barrier like New Bedford's looks doable, officials from Long Island said Monday during a visit to the city.

A group of about 20 people from western Long Island got a close-up look at the barrier, including the gates, engine and subterranean tunnel. They are seeking ways to prevent the severe damage of Hurricane Sandy from happening again.

"I'm not worried about resiliency; I'm worried about prevention," said Robert Kennedy, mayor of the Village of Freeport, population 43,000. He said Hurricane Sandy flooded one-third of the village, including its industrial area.

After that, insurance rates skyrocketed and property values fell, he said. Coastal communities are looking for a solution.

One proposal calls for two sets of floodgates on Long Island's south shore, at East Rockaway Inlet and Jones Inlet -- places where water passes behind barrier beaches toward densely populated Nassau County.

Engineer Sean McDonald led the tour. He manages the Cape Cod Canal for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the harbor portion of the hurricane barrier.

Officially called the New Bedford Hurricane Protection Barrier, it was built in the early 1960s for $18.6 million. Severe storms in the 1930s sparked the effort to build it, McDonald said.

The hurricane of 1938, which predated today's naming system, was the deadliest in the region's recorded history. It hit with little warning as a Category 3 and produced massive coastal storm surges, killing more than 600 people. Another Category 3, Hurricane Carol, hit the region in 1954.

Hurricane Bob in 1991 was the worst to hit since the barrier was built, bringing a storm surge of 10 to 15 feet in Buzzards Bay, according to a history page on the state website. Although the Category 2 storm devastated much of the Buzzards Bay shoreline, flood waters did not breach the New Bedford hurricane barrier.

McDonald said the barrier has never been breached and can handle a storm surge of 15 to 20 feet.

He did warn the visitors that construction costs are "peanuts" compared to the long-term operating costs. Operating the barrier costs between $400,000 and $600,000 a year, not including major maintenance projects, he said.

The estimated construction cost for the Long Island proposal is $200 million to $225 million, according to Kennedy.

Barbara Donno, mayor of the Village of Plandome Manor on Long Island's north shore, said she thinks a barrier is necessary.

Susan Lyons, a village justice in Freeport, said she was impressed that a 25-horsepower engine operates the gates.

"I just love the mechanics of it," she said. She also said the walkable rock portion of the barrier beautifies the area.

The Army Corps closed the gates six times in March, generally twice daily during storms, at high tide, McDonald said.

He said people ask him if the barrier will still be sufficient in a hundred years, because of climate change. He says yes, but the more often it closes, the more it disrupts ferries and other vessels that can't easily wait the hour or so required for tidal closings.

Follow Jennette Barnes on Twitter @jbarnesnews.

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