Salisbury Beach gets 1,100 tons of sand after winter storm damage
SALISBURY - Salisbury Beach is getting 1,100 tons of sand this week to help fill in what was lost during wild winter storms.
"Tourism here's big in the summer," said Chris Guillen, who was testing out the waves on his surfboard Monday. "Brings a lot of jobs, people working here, so this keeps the beaches looking nice," he said.
"People, their porches were destroyed," said David Nadeau, as he opened up his house for the season. It's been a tradition in his wife's family for generations. "Right now, the dune is probably shortened by about four feet, and it's removed 25 feet to the ocean," he said. "We tell the kids to enjoy it, because it may not be here next year."
Their neighbor Bill Dennis just installed new beach steps where his old ones washed away in the storms. "And slowly the wind takes everything down," he said pointing to the beach. "And you lose more of the dune."
While the DCR crews moving in sand was a welcome sight, some say it's just a temporary solution. "It's like a Band-Aid pretty much," said Dennis.
Residents want long-term solution
Residents are pushing the state and federal government for a longer-term solution. Massachusetts Senator Bruce Tarr said some of it could come from a pot of money collected from state beach parking fees. "That money needs to be used for this purpose, because if we don't have anything to offer the visitors who are coming to the beach," he said, then visitors might not keep coming "to pay that fee."