Over $1 million in donations have assisted with repairs and reinforcements at Marginal Way, a coastal trail, popular with residents and tourists, in the York County resort town of Ogunquit.
In 2024, a series of coastal storms caused significant damage. Powerful waves and higher-than-normal tides eroded the shoreline, cracked retaining walls and damaged concrete bench pads along the trail’s scenic cliffs.
The damage, combined with lingering storm damage from 2018, further threatened the path’s stability, while ongoing erosion risked undermining its structural integrity.
The January 2024 storms alone inflicted an estimated $1 million in damage on top of $2 million from the 2018 wreckage, according to Matt Buttrick, Ogunquit’s town manager.
Buttrick said the total repair budget approached $3 million.
The Marginal Way Preservation Fund’s storm damage repair appeal and support from its $4.5 million endowment has contributed over $1 million to support the Marginal Way and advance storm-related repairs.
The 1.25-mile walking trail, skirting the ocean cliffs, draws nearly one million visitors each year.
Cliffside engineering
To execute the complex restoration, the town hired Walsh Engineering Associates in Westbrook and Linkel Environmental Construction in Topsham as firms with more than 35 years each of shoreline stabilization expertise.
The trail’s narrow, cliffside terrain and constant public use made the project particularly challenging, according to a news release.
The design team and construction crews needed to balance safety, durability and aesthetics and to ensure repairs blended naturally into the surrounding coastline.
“Preserving the Marginal Way during a time of increased storm intensity and rising sea levels has been central to our design approach,” said Bill Walsh, president of Walsh Engineering.
Walsh designed and Linkel implemented a multi-phase restoration plan that included site assessment, structural stabilization using large boulders and high-strength mortar techniques, and ecological replanting with native vegetation to control erosion and protect against storm surge.
Throughout the work, Linkel maintained partial public access by rerouting foot traffic.
Shoreline stability
Outcomes of the restoration effort include improved shoreline stability with reinforced retaining structures, native plantings and utilizing walls where necessary.
The fund’s donation shortened the timespan for what would otherwise have been a decade-long taxpayer-funded recovery effort, said Bob Whitelaw, member of the select board.
“Coastal storms have grown in frequency and intensity, with less-predictable impacts to natural and human systems,” said Shana Starobin, assistant professor of government and environmental studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick and a plaque donor at the trail’s Serenity Point.
She continued, “The Marginal Way’s proximity to the Atlantic and continual exposure make it particularly vulnerable.”
Serenity Point is a scenic overlook along the path where more than 250 commemorative plaques have been installed. The plaque program has raised more than $2.5 million to support the preservation and protection of the path.
The nonprofit fund seeks to preserve and protect Marginal Way, prioritizing long-term resilience planning and endowment growth to safeguard the path.
