Residents of Saco’s Camp Ellis neighborhood are hoping they may finally get relief from severe coastal erosion that has plagued them for generations.
$23 million in the federal budget will pay for construction of a 750-foot stone jetty spur intended to reduce wave force and sand loss.
Shoreline damage is blamed on a nearby Saco River jetty expanded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s, said Kevin Roche President of the group Save our Shores Saco Bay.
"This is a huge step," Roche said. The Army Corps are at fault, this has been on the table for so long and we believe this is happening. This will be done by 2027."
Erosion has claimed dozens of homes and hundreds of feet of shoreline in Camp Ellis over the last century.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins said the funding was included in Congress's fiscal year 2025 continuing resolution.
"As chair of the Senate appropriations committee, I worked hard to secure this funding, which will help to resolve this problem, protect property, and restore the receding shoreline," Collins said in a statement.
Roche said the community is now looking forward to getting additional federal funding to replenish sand at Camp Ellis.
