Rehoboth Boardwalk reconstruction on schedule

Despite the chaotic look, work on Phase 1 of the city’s Boardwalk reconstruction project is moving along quickly, even as Rehoboth officials plot their next move. City engineers have begun surveying both ends of the Boardwalk and soon will start design work.

Commissioner Stan Mills, chairman of the Rehoboth Boardwalk Committee, said the city got a grant from the Department of Transportation for design and engineering work. Mills said the city hopes to receive federal stimulus money for the project. The city requested $8 million for the project, which will maintain the Boardwalk’s existing footprint.

Mills said if the city receives stimulus money, the timeline to advertise, bid and start work on the project is tight. If funds do not become available, he said, the city would have plans ready and could pick up the project at a later date.

As for Phase 1, a four-block section from Rehoboth Avenue to Laurel Street, Mills said construction up to the storefronts would be finished by Easter; the rest will be complete by mid-May. Most of the understructure of concrete pilings and pre-cast beams has been installed. A block’s worth of wood stringers, which support the decking material, have been laid down and a half a block of decking is already in place.

At its meeting Feb. 5, the Boardwalk committee debated one potential change to the look of the Boardwalk: the concrete end of Rehoboth Avenue.

Mills said the city could either continue using concrete in that area or use wood to match the rest of the Boardwalk. Either way, that section would be rebuilt using new pilings. Jack Dolan, chief engineer on the project, said, “The concrete is in decent shape. It does have some underlining. Is it going to last 20 years? No. Will it last five? Yes.”

Mayor Sam Cooper said the section has been concrete for as long as he can remember. “I don’t know what the specific reason was but I do know they held public dances there in the late 1950s. It was quite a deal,” Cooper said. “They had music and dancing on the concrete Boardwalk.”

Besides wood or concrete, brick pavers were also suggested. Most of the committee favored wood, although no formal recommendation has been made. That decision lies with the city commissioners. Dolan said the commissioners should decide by the end of March so plans could be submitted to the Department of Transportation.

Commissioner Kathy McGuiness said, “I like the wood. I think it keeps the Boardwalk the Boardwalk.” Cooper said, “The concrete is what I’ve known. It’s not bad to separate the Boardwalk from the north and south.”