Site as Viewed From Plum Island

As mentioned in the previous post, you can get a good view of the Salisbury jetty construction from the the northern tip of Plum Island. There are a limited number of free parking spaces. If those are filled up, there is a paid parking lot. I haven't walked out to the south jetty yet to get photos but you can get good views from the beach along the Merrimack River.

A third crane and third stone transport barge are now working at the site. It easily recognized by its white crane mast.

There are two red cranes. This is the smaller of the two. It is anchored along the beach near the stone pile ready to load more stone on to the transport barge.

This is the larger of the two red cranes. In addition to loading stone onto the barge, it also used to lift the excavators onto a barge so they can be move to the outer section of the jetty. I will have a video of this in a future post.

One of two tugboats which move the barges between the beach staging area and the jetty.

Large boulders are placed on the rubber mats to keep them from washing away.

Two excavators parked on the jetty for the weekend.

The "No Wake" zone has been extended to include the mouth of the Merrimack. The double fine for construction sites applies along this stretch. The Newburyport Daily News reports the Harbormaster will be enforcing it.

A couple enjoy the nice weather on the beach.

Summer Visitors to Salisbury & Plum Island

The construction on the Salisbury jetty has only had a minor impact on the summer visitors boating in the Merrimack River, visiting Salisbury Beach State Reservation, or fishing off the north end of Plum Island. There had been some concerns before construction began, that summer beach goers and tourists would go elsewhere along the coastline. On the recent hot days, the main beach parking lot at the state reservation has been nearly full. The trucks hauling stones in from a quarry in Rhode Island have had to share the reservation road with car loads of beach goers.

The north end of Plum Island along the Merrimack River is great place for a picnic on the beach. It is rarely crowded because there is no swimming along this stretch of beach due to strong currents. It is a great place to get a view of construction  on the jetty.

A sail boat navigates the channel heading into Newburyport Harbor.

On a clear day, you can see the Isles of Shoals in the distance. (Click on the photo to enlarge it)

The mouth of the Merrimack River can be busy on some days with sail and power boat traffic.

This is favorite location for striped bass fisherman. they setup of their poles in standings and enjoy the day in their beach chairs as they hope to catch "stripers" for dinner.

A couple takes advantage of the empty lifeguard stand to get a nice view.

At the Salisbury Beach State Reservation, beach goers setup for the day outside of 

the construction area.

A good part of the main parking lot remains open while construction is ongoing.

Excavators Working in the Water (Almost)

This video was shot at high tide. The ocean is coming up nearly to the top of the broken down section of the jetty. One of excavators is working on this section. The excavator dips the claw into the water to see how far down the rocks are. Once the operator determines the depth, an appropriate size block is chosen and place in that location.

The second excavator is makings its way further out on the jetty. It stops to made adjust to the rubber mats placed on top of then jetty to create stable surface for the tractors to travel over. The construction crew takes care to create as safe a working environment as possible to protect themselves and the equipment.

"Dancing Tractors"

There are usual two or three excavators working out on the Salisbury jetty. What happens when one excavator needs to pass the other on top of the jetty? One of the excavators pulls off onto the short spur jetty wall to let the other pass. This video captures the moment. I couldn't resist titling this one "dancing tractors".

Preparing the Work Area on Top of the Salisbury Jetty

The top of the jetty has have a rough uneven surface especially in areas which have been damaged by years of storms. The excavators need to travel from the beach to the outer sections of the jetty to work on repairing it. They place rubber mats (made from old tires) on top of the jetty to create a more stable surface to travel on. The safety of the excavator operations and other construction personnel depends proper placement of these mats to made a safe road surface. This video shows an excavator moving the mats around. I am impressed with the skill the operators have in moving, adjusting, and repositioning the mats into the correct position.

Excavator Working on Stone Staging Area on Beach

When the stones arrive by truck, they are initially taken off the flatbed and placed in a pile nearby. Subsequently the stones are moved and reorganized into other piles before being transported to the Salisbury jetty. This video was taken from beach side of the construction area near the fence. It shows one of the excavators reorganizing the stones. In the background you can see two excavators working on the jetty.

Some General Views of the Construction Site

These are a series of photos showing what the construction site looked like during the first week of June. Since than a third crane and a second stone transport barge have been added.

 

The ever present "construction supervisors" keep a close watch on progress.

A view from concrete seawall  showing the two cranes along with two excavators on the beach and one excavator on the Salisbury jetty.

This is the beach area next to the parking lot. It is used for unloading the trucks of their stones and piling the stones in the staging area.

 

The excavator organizing the stones.

Flatbed truck with its cargo of stones unloaded already.