City officials OK contract for seawall to stop beach erosion
DOUGLAS, Mich. (AP) — Officials in a west Michigan city have approved a contract for a seawall in an effort stabilize a bluff at a public beach.
The beach in Douglas has been closed since last year and nearly all of it has been covered by high water levels on Lake Michigan, according to the Holland Sentinel.
Erosion has damaged the base of the bluff and stairs leading to the beach from a parking lot.
Douglas Mayor Patricia Lion said the erosion along the public-access shoreline also is threatening homes atop the bluff to the north and south of the beach.
The low contractor’s bid to install 100 feet of steel seawall is $286,340. The amount includes 4- to 6-foot granite boulders in front of the wall and along the rest of the shoreline and reconstruction of the access stairs.
Lion said she hoped the city would be able to reopen the beach by mid-August.
Douglas is southwest of Grand Rapids.