Politics & Government

Engineer: Waterfront Retaining Wall Will Collapse

Conservative estimates put the cost of a new wall at more than $3 million.

The retaining wall on Port Chester's waterfront will collapse if it's not replaced, an engineer told Port Chester's trustees Tuesday night.

Painting a dire picture as he took trustees through a series of photos and diagrams during a special meeting Tuesday night, engineer Alan Waller of the Halcrow Group said the collapse was inevitable.

"The wall's going to go sometime. I don't know when, and there isn't any short term solution to this," Waller said. "The only thing we can do is hope it will take a while. "

The cost to replace the wall? At least $3.2 million, and Waller said that's a conservative estimate that assumes pieces of the bulkhead don't collapse before the village can intervene. Every rainstorm, he warned, will bring the wall closer to collapse.

Since April, sections of the waterfront promenade have been closed to the public because of safety concerns. Since then, portions of the wall have buckled, leaning out toward the water and snapping the rods that brace the wall's structure. In recent weeks, the damage has accelerated -- photos taken in early June show beams just off from their original straight angles, while photographs taken within the last few days show those same sections bending in broad curves toward the water.

"Let's hope and pray to God we don't get hit with another Nor'easter," said Trustee John Branca, "because we're gonna lose the whole bulkhead."

Waller said the bottom of the wall has been moving out toward the water incrementally since it was built under the supervision of G&S Investors, in the same deal that brought the $100 million waterfront development to Port Chester. The slow avalanche of soil placed pressure on a system of drainage pipes behind the wall, he said, breaking the pipes and leaving no way for the water to drain.

Now, Waller said, the already-sagging wall is up against two forces of nature -- the pressure of the slowly-building soil, and the build-up of water. As the soil moves, the tie rods holding the wall's sheeting start to bend, compounding the problem even further.

"It's kind of like a bow and arrow," Waller said. "They're snapping."

Design flaws and poor construction are to blame, the engineer said. To save costs, the developers used vinyl sheeting. The bulkhead displays clear signs of shoddy construction, including timber used to fill spaces where the sheeting was bent and twisted, "which nobody in their right mind would do," Waller said.

What's next? Mayor Dennis Pilla said the village should "simultaneously go down three paths" -- address the physical damage and construct a new bulkhead before the old one collapses; pursue potential legal action against the construction company, designers and developers; and figure out how to pay for a new wall.

Last year, the village appealed to Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, and Senator Chuck Schumer for help, in addition to requesting federal stimulus funds. Neither were able to deliver through appropriations last year, but Pilla said the village would again appeal for help. The mayor said he'd heard from Lowey earlier on Tuesday, and the congresswoman is expected to sit in on the board's Aug. 2 meeting.

Pilla said he remains hopeful for federal money to help cover the cost.

"We were denied up to this point, but the severity of the situation was different than it is now," he said.

In the meantime, the village will send out a call for bids -- and officials are looking to move quickly. Some details need to be ironed out, and some questions need to be answered -- including whether the development company can be held accountable for the initial design and construction flaws.

Once the trustees put the problem in the hands of capable engineers, they'll face another hard fact -- the village doesn't have the money to pay for the wall.

"I'm not trying to be overdramatic about it," said Republican Sam Terenzi, "but we're going to run out of cash if we don't have a plan."


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