Lakeshore Road project in Carlton honored by Public Works Association

Provided photo: The Lakeshore Road slope stabilization project fortified about 1,500 feet of the shoreline with rocks after significant erosion from high waters in 2017 and 2019.

$2 million effort to stabilize shoreline recognized for environmental project in Small Cities/Rural Communities category

CARLTON – A $2 million project that strengthened 1,500 feet of the shoreline on Lakeshore Road in Carlton has been honored by Genesee Valley Branch of the American Public Works Association.

Lakeshore Road is one of the main routes to Point Breeze and the surrounding shoreline area. It is owned and maintained by Orleans County.

The local chapter of the APWA recognized the work in Carlton as “Project of the Year” in the environmental category for Small Cities/Rural Communities category.

The project was 95 percent funded by the state’s Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI). The county was responsible for the other 5 percent of the costs.

A project in Yates for upgrading the town park and fortifying the shoreline there also was recognized by the APWA. In addition, Adam Rush, the chief operator of the Village of Albion water plant, will be honored during the Jan. 26 awards banquet at RIT.

With the Lakeshore Road project, Keeler Construction in Barre served as the general contractor. Keeler hauled in big boulders along about 1,500 feet of the shoreline, going east from Route 98 in Point Breeze.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Keeler Construction in Barre is shown in August 2021 trucking in big rocks to Lakeshore Road in Carlton, part of a project to build a strong breakwall and harden the shoreline from erosion and future flooding from Lake Ontario. The shoreline also was regraded with a new vegetative cover to help stave off some erosion and damage from the waves.

The shoreline also was regraded and with a new vegetative cover to help stave off some erosion and damage from the waves.

The improvements re-establish a shoreline that was eroded from the high water levels in 2017 and 2019.

“The shoreline of Lake Ontario along Lakeshore Road in the Town of Carlton suffered significant erosion due to the floods that jeopardized the integrity of our road and the Town’s utility infrastructure,” said Lynne Johnson, Orleans County legislature chairwoman. “This project impacted 15 total properties, in which every owner was appreciative of the county’s efforts, not only to fix the erosion problem but to make it more resilient against future flood events.”

The project was part of the state’s $300 million REDI program to protect infrastructure and other critical sites along the south shore.

John Papponetti, the county’s commissioner of the Department of Public Works, teamed with engineers from Wendel Companies to develop and design a slope stabilization system for Lakeshore Road. The hardened barrier will protect the shoreline from the harsh wave action of the lake, along with a natural barrier of native plantings along the upper portion of the slope to prevent erosion.

Provided photo: The high waters from 2017 and 2019 took out chunks of the shoreline, getting the water close to Lakeshore Road and about 15 homes on that stretch of the road.