Charlestown residents concerned with deteriorating breachway

CHARLESTOWN, R.I. (WLNE) — Residents are concerned with a rock wall that is deteriorating at Charlestown Breachway, but town officials said they are still at least a year-and-a-half out from getting it fixed.

The issue is becoming a public safety hazard, causing sand to pile up and boats to get stuck when traveling through the channel to and from Ninigret Pond.

“From the storms last year, it’s knocked the wall down, and the sand has sunk,” Russell Goodman, who spends summer in Charlestown, said. “It’s causing quite a problem for boats coming in and out…it’s a shame to see what’s happened here.”

According to town officials, the deterioration will also negatively affect the water quality in the pond over time.

Back in March, Charlestown received a roughly $200,000 grant from Governor Dan McKee and Rhode Island’s Infrastructure Bank to start engineering.

“The whole damn thing needs to be fixed,” Jim Mageau, a Charlestown resident, said. “And that’s why the Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Rhode Island has got to get involved.”

Town officials said the jetty is technically the state’s responsibility, but the town is trying to be proactive, working alongside the state, the Department of Environmental Management and the Coastal Resources Management Council.

It’s at least a $6 million project and will take time to get the necessary funding and hire the right contractor.

Town Manager Jeff Allen said, in the meantime, he is seeking emergency funding to put a stop-gap in the wall.