6,000 Dump Trucks Headed For 'Sconset?

To the editor: Did you know that the first phase of the proposed expansion of the geotube seawall on the public beach below the bluff in Sconset will require 6,000 truckloads of sand in the first year alone? Parked end-to-end, 6,000 dump trucks would form a continuous line 34 miles long – the distance from Sconset to Hyannis.

Our team has done the math, and it’s alarming. Phase One of the geotube expansion will take 7.5 months (about 158 work days) and require approximately 107,000 cubic yards of sand. According to SBPF records, each dump truck load represents about 18 cubic yards. 107,000 divided by 18 equals 5,943 dump truck loads. Each of these is a round trip, so about 11,887 truck trips over 158 work days equals a truck driving by 38 times per work day, or about every 7 minutes, for 9 hours a day. And that’s just year one; it’s estimated that another 2,000 round-trip truckloads will be required for every year that the geotubes remain on the public beach.

Although we may agree to disagree about expanding the geotubes, let’s focus on the facts. As always, we strive for accuracy and stand to be corrected if we are in error. Thank you.

On behalf of the Nantucket Coastal Conservancy Board of Directors, D. Anne Atherton, Ashley Erisman, Susan McFarland, Maureen Phillips, Karen Werner, and Mary Wawro.

Sincerely,

Burton Spruce Balkind
President