A Modular Approach for Dune Protection and Shoreline Stabilization in East Hampton, NY: Fid-Bau Portal

A Modular Approach for Dune Protection and Shoreline Stabilization in East Hampton, NY

Timpson, Christopher

Recent storm events, such as the storms in the fall of 2009 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012, have eroded beaches and dunes in the downtown Montauk, NY, area. The culmination of these storms have created a potentially imminent hazard that has left many commercial buildings along the shoreline vulnerable to damages from future storms. Beach and dune erosion caused by Superstorm Sandy has partially undermined several shorefront structures in downtown Montauk, leaving the area vulnerable to damage from future storms. A stabilization project was developed in cooperation with the Army Corps of Engineers, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and East Hampton, NY town officials. A unique component of this project was the use of modular geotextile containers instead of geotextile tubes for the core of the dunes. Geotextile containers can provide an alternative over traditional geotextile tubes; they are fabricated with high capacity seams to produce bag or pillow shaped containers. When filled with sand or other soils, the geotextile containers are used to construct revetments and other hydraulic structures such as filling in scour holes, closing breached dykes, and as basic armor units for erosion protection works. Geotextile containers are engineered to provide strength, durability, and soil tightness to perform during installation and during operational life. They are easy to use and can be rapidly mobilized if necessary for emergency works. This paper will discuss the material selection, development, construction, and installation of this stabilization effort utilizing geotextile containers for dune protection.