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Crews Work to Repair Storm-Worn N.H. Beaches Before Tourist Season

On the Seacoast, crews are working to repair damage from winter storms in time for the summer tourist season.

At North Hampton State Beach, repairs are being made to a collapsed parking lot and sidewalk.

The area is protected by a seawall made of giant granite boulders. But Dennis Thompson with Northern New England Field Services says the waves during one of the recent nor’easters were so intense they forced saltwater through the crevices in between the boulders and underneath the parking lot.

“Some people don’t believe in global warming and the rising tides," says Thompson, "but all you need to do is work down here for a season and you can see the effects."

Thompson says his company has been doing seawall work on the New Hampshire coastline for many years.

"And every time we do one for someone we tell them the same thing: it's a temporary repair. Everyone wants a permanent repair but unfortunately you can't promise that -- not with the ocean," says Thompson, "with the rising sea levels and the storms seeming to get worse."

The repairs at North Hampton State Beach alone are estimated to cost the state between $200,000 and $250,000. Thompson says his crews are racing to get them finished by April 20th.

Jason Moon is a senior reporter and producer on the Document team. He has created longform narrative podcast series on topics ranging from unsolved murders, to presidential elections, to secret lists of police officers.
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