$5M Coming to Fix 'Albatross' of a Project?

Following a tour of the blizzard-damaged North Hampton State Beach sea wall with State Sen. Nancy Stiles, Gov. Maggie Hassan has reportedly authorized $2.5 million of the state's capital budget be used to repair the last half of the structure, which the Department of Resources and Economic Development told the Hampton Union "had been like an albatross around DRED's neck."

The Hampton Union has reported Stiles needs to make an amendment to her $5 million bill so the remaining $2.5 million comes from beach parking meter revenues. The amendment wouldn't increase the state's budget, and would help minimize the cost to repair the roughly 60 remaining unrepaired 30-foot segments of the wall, according to the paper.

Stiles, a Republican from Hampton, has been attempting for years to secure funding for the deteriorated 1930s sea wall. The wall has suffered significant damage over the past few months due to multiple storms, and Stiles told the Hampton Union that it's "time" to go ahead with funding to do a full repair because "interest rates are really low" and because the recent storms have damaged or undone many of the temporary repairs done in recent years and months.

More information about the project and the damage is available on the Friends of North Hampton Beach Facebook page.