16 months after storms decimated Racine’s lakefront, town is moving towards rebuilding Local News

The $ 670,000 cost of the consultation has been included in the 2021 capital improvement budget, although the cost is intended to be spread over the course of the project, which can take several years.

The SmithGroup will analyze coastal conditions and consider a number of problematic events that could cause damage – including rising water levels and ice conditions – that could be used to inform about future improvements.

Mayor Cory Mason noted that the time to move is now with a major infrastructure bill going through Congress.

Support local journalism

Your membership enables our reporting.

{{Featured_Button_text}}

“If we did this work now,” he noted, “we would be in a better position to ask the federal government about our needs.”

If passed, the infrastructure bill could be available for shovel-ready projects that have gone through the approval process.

High winds created massive waves on Lake Michigan and hit the streets of Chicago with the April 30th flood.

Prepare for the future

Tom Molbeck, director of parks, recreation and cultural services, said several departments worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency over the past year to cause coastal damage from rising seawater.

Molbeck noted that some funds were approved for the projects and some were rejected.

The goal, he explained, is to get the parks and recreation areas along the coast back to where they were before the big storm in January 2020, but also to improve them so the city doesn’t have to face the problem again.