The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires
Bob Power, chairman of the Cliff Walk Commission, gives a tour of the damage caused to Cliff Walk by superstorm Sandy in October. This section of damages walkway is south of The Breakers mansion on Bellevue Avenue. See more photos.
NEWPORT, R.I. -- To show why one of the state's most popular attractions is still damaged more than two months after superstorm Sandy ravaged the coast, Robert Power begins a walking tour at a sign at the end of Marine Avenue.
"Cliff Walk Closed," it reads. "Ruggles Avenue to Ledge Road."
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Under gray skies and overlooking calm seas, the chairman of the city's Cliff Walk Commission strikes out toward Ochre Point and the renowned Breakers mansion. In no time at all, he has to hop from one rock to another in spots where waves have washed away rocks.
Then, after reaching a paved section supported by a seawall, he comes to an abrupt halt.
"Look at this," he says.
An approximately 30-foot section of sidewalk has buckled and cracked, as if under a great weight. But the actual cause of the collapse is from below, where powerful waves from Sandy severely eroded the seawall. Rocks and dirt from beneath and behind the wall were washed away, leaving behind visible gaps.
"Look at how far it ate into that," says Power, astonished despite having been on the commission for more than 10 years and having witnessed the effects of many storms.
Damage to the Cliff Walk -- while sparing the most frequented areas between Easton's Beach and The Breakers mansion -- was so severe and so widespread elsewhere that early hopes of reopening some of the closest sections were dashed. Now all of the work is expected to take place in a major project in the coming months.