Hillman Marsh restoration project underway

By Wayne King

Leamington Shoreline Association

Phase 1 of the Essex Region Conservation Authority Hillman Marsh Restoration Project is well underway. 

Included in this phase is the construction of a permanent protective break wall at the north end of East Beach Road and constructing a 120-foot long north-westerly-headed pilot barrier beach located just a short distance south of the newly constructed breakwall. 

The contractors have been busy for three weeks now, hauling and placing huge armourstone, riprap and erosion control fabric. Judging from the work that has been done so far, this structure should last for many years. Construction of the pilot barrier beach should start this week.

The pilot barrier beach will be the starting point for Phase 2 of the project, which will be the construction of a new barrier beach to replace the one that was completely destroyed several years ago during high water and strong north/northeast wind events. It will consist of a north-westerly arching vegetated Barrier Beach.

SJL Engineering, the firm responsible for Phase 1 design, has been contracted to design the new barrier beach. The orange-coloured buoys located in the area of the breach and near the sand spit are wave-and-current measuring devices that collect data to assist in new barrier beach design. 

When the design is complete and before construction can begin, it will be physically modelled in a controlled environment to prove its viability and sustainability. 

An exact timeline on the start of construction for the Barrier Beach is unavailable at this time, but it would not start before fall 2025.