Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the completion of four flood resiliency projects in the Village of Fair Haven, Cayuga County.
The village was awarded $3.7 million to complete these projects, funded by New York State’s Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI). The REDI-funded projects will help mitigate the impact of future high-water events and improve the resiliency of Cayuga County’s shoreline.
The 2019 record-high water levels of Lake Ontario resulted in devastating floods throughout communities along the lake’s shoreline, including the Village of Fair Haven. The floods degraded public infrastructure and restricted public use of popular tourist destinations like the West Barrier Bar Park. As a result, the village was awarded $5.25 million by the REDI Commission for a total of six projects, with the final project anticipated to begin later this spring.
The four completed projects are the West Barrier Bar Park flood mitigation project, the King Street boat ramp and parking area resiliency measures, the Lake Street Pump House flood mitigation, and the Cottage Street Public Park flood resiliency project. The West Barrier Bar Park flood mitigation project regraded the Lake Ontario shoreline and installed an offshore rock sill to reduce wave energy and protect the Little Sodus Bay shoreline from erosion. The King Street boat ramp and parking area resiliency measures included raising the elevations of existing retaining walls and replacing heaved concrete boat ramp slabs, while the Lake Street Pump House flood mitigation installed steel sheet piling and rip rap along the shoreline. The Cottage Street Public Park flood resiliency project repaired the existing concrete boat ramp, raised the heights of existing retaining walls, added a guardrail on top of the retaining walls, and replaced the current wooden dock with a floating dock.
The REDI program was established by the State in response to the extended pattern of flooding along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River to increase the resilience of shoreline communities and bolster economic development in the region. Since its creation in the spring of 2019, 134 REDI-funded local and regional projects are underway, with 52 projects completed.
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