South Winds Aid In Repair Of Point Monroe Bulkheads

Residents continued to toil yesterday to mend battered bulkheads at about 30 waterfront homes on Point Monroe, a curving sand spit that forms the northeast corner of Bainbridge Island.

``It appears from our walks and talks with the engineers . . . that everything seems secure at this point,'' said Andy Driscoll, whose home was turned into a command center.

Contractors used concrete blocks and highway median barriers, augmented by large and small rocks, to fortify the bulkheads and absorb the energy of waves. The work continued during the low-tide hours beginning yesterday evening and was to last into the early morning today.

Only during low tides can the heavy equipment needed to move rock into place get onto the beach.

Modest southerly winds worked in favor of residents yesterday.

``We're going from high tide to high tide and hoping we don't get any northerly winds,'' Driscoll said. Even though the situation is temporarily stable, ``it's not under control,'' he said, noting the weather could determine what happens.

High tides combined with last week's storm claimed 4 feet of beach from Point Monroe, engineers said.

While the spit gets battered regularly by north winds, it may have been the two fierce Arctic Express storms in close succession that made the damage so much worse, said Karen Driscoll. South winds usually have time to restore the beach sand and gravel between northerly

onslaughts, but this time they didn't, she said.

Short-term emergency work by private contractors hired by homeowners to stop further erosion is expected to cost about $50,000, Driscoll said.

Neighbors on Point Monroe will meet today to plan long-term repairs.