Shorewood Hopes to Open Atwater Beach by Labor Day

Village officials hope to open Atwater Beach by Sept. 5, were interrupted by summer storms.

Parks Commission Chairperson Dan Ford said contractors were on track to complete the work by July 15, the original date targeted for completion of an $820,000 project that was to stabilize the lake bluff after severe July 2010 rains made way to erosion, but after more summer rains in June, another part of the bluff began to erode.

Trustee Jeff Hanewall said about a week after the severe storms, contractors noticed that the south side of the bluff overlooking Atwater Beach had shifted.

"You could actually see a crack in the earth where the bluff started to shift," Hanewall said.

Village officials said it wouldn’t make sense to not address the problem while they are already doing work on the bluff and the Village Board last week approved adding another $140,000 to the project — what officials estimate the extra work will cost.

"If it were to continue it would eventually erode over the new road that we are putting in," Hanewall said. "We are already putting all this money into stabilizing the bluff."

In May, the Village Board approved the $820,000 project, not only to stabilize the north side of the bluff, but also build an access road for service and emergency vehicles and construct a new boardwalk.

After contractor Veit & Company Inc. completes the stabilization work, K2 Structure will move in to start construction on the boardwalk.