Boston: Statehouse hearing held for bills aimed at helping to repair crumbling seawalls

Photo courtesy of Rep. Jim Cantwell

The cost of repairing the crumbling seawalls of the state’s coastal communities was presented to lawmakers Tuesday as a high-priced ticking time bomb.

Three bills are before the legislature to set up loans to help coastal communities handle the $1 billion dollar cost of rebuilding the state’s Depression-era built seawalls. Marshfield selectwoman Patricia Reilly told lawmakers it cost the town $1.4 to repair 515 feet of storm demolished seawall in a town with 2 miles of coastline.

“When that 515 feet collapsed, if you will, it not only endangered tens of millions of dollars of private property, it also endangered tens of millions of dollars of public infrastructure,” said Reilly.

Coastal town officials pushing for the loan repeatedly reminded lawmakers that 72 percent of the state’s residents live on the coast.

(Reporting by Pippin Ross, WATD News)

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