Closing Bell: Design and Construction Teams Chosen to Rebuild Rockaway Boardwalk

The Parks Department just announced that the city awarded CH2M HILL the contract to oversee the design of the new Rockaway boardwalk and Skanska to manage the boardwalk’s construction. The boardwalk design is now being finalized after ongoing community outreach, and preliminary work is expected to begin this winter. Nearly five miles of the Rockaway Beach boardwalk, running from Beach 20th Street to Beach 126th Street, will be rebuilt as part of this project. According to Parks, “The new boardwalk will be constructed with steel-reinforced concrete and elevated above the 100-year flood plain. A baffle wall will be incorporated into the design and the structure will be bolstered by sand berms planted with native grasses.”

The project also incorporates a master plan for the entire length of Rockaway Beach — this conceptual planning process will run concurrent with the boardwalk design. Parks expects a final conceptual plan to be complete early next year; one goal of this plan is to increase access to the beach and improve surrounding parks and rec facilities. The Parks Department already made huge strides along Rockaway Beach by removing debris, making repairs to damaged boardwalks, replacing buildings with elevated and storm-resistant models, creating boardwalk islands around beach amenities, installing ramps and stairs for beach access, implementing shoreline protective measures, repairing playgrounds and environmental monitoring.

Photo via Parks Department