With memories of past winter storms still fresh, Kennebunkport officials are working on a series of projects to prevent damage from future foul weather.

The town is in the middle of an $8 million project at Cape Porpoise on the southern side of Bickford Island. They want to raise the commercial pier there about two feet.  

In July 2023, officials celebrated the completion of a project just down the road, where Bickford Island connects to the mainland. That project raised the causeway about four feet, which was crucial to preventing storm surges from covering it and making it impassable.

Kennebunkport Public Works Director Eric Labelle said that happened “several times a year” before the elevation project.

Now officials want to do similar preventive work at the Cape Porpoise pier. 

About 50 commercial fishermen, most of them lobstermen, are based at the pier, Labelle said. 

Until it gets raised a few feet, the pier remains vulnerable.

In December 2023 and January 2024, historic storm surges and high tides caused major flooding along Maine’s entire southern coastline. “Certainly, related to some of the storms we had in 2023, the pier did go under water during those times,” Labelle said.

Labelle said beyond the pier project, he has his eye on Walker’s Point, location of the Bush family compound and where storms last winter washed out part of Shore Road. But it’s not cheap. The causeway project cost $2.6 million and building up Walker’s Point could cost as much as $3 million. With the pier project, that adds up to more than $10 million. 

Labelle said state and federal emergency funding and grant funding is critical to pay for the work, and as long as there is a risk of more bad storms, he and other officials will keep looking for more money. 

“As we look at different locations throughout town, we’re going to continue to pursue grants and opportunities for us to be able to do more work,” he said.