What's happened since the Cliff Walk collapse? Here's what you need to know
NEWPORT — After a major collapse on the Cliff Walk left an approximately 20-foot section of the trail in a state of disrepair this March, the city launched two major efforts to study the historic pathway for short-term repairs and long-term maintenance.
A little over two months later, here is the status of the Cliff Walk collapse:
The investigation is currently underway
Although plans have been in place to get a geotechnical firm to study the cause of the Cliff Walk collapse, the Cliff Walk Commission just confirmed at its monthly meeting on Tuesday that the investigation is currently underway.
Cliff Walk collapse: What caused the Cliff Walk collapse? Newport is hoping an engineering firm can find out
While he doesn’t have a definite schedule for how long the study will last and when repairs will take place, Commission Chair Peter Janaros said the initial time estimate from the engineering group was about three months. The drilling process to collect samples has a deadline for sometime in July and Janaros said analysis of said samples is expected to take place for at least two months afterward.
The Cliff Walk detour path could result in a new sidewalk around Ochre Park Road.
While the portion of the Cliff Walk surrounding the collapse is closed, the majority of the trail is still open to visitors. The city has posted detour signs to take visitors up Narragansett Avenue, across Ochre Point Avenue and down Webster Avenue to return to the original trail.
To make this route safer, as the city does not know how long the detour will have to remain in place, Janaros said the city is planning to install a sidewalk to the tune of around $100,000 to make the detour from the collapse sight safer for visitors. He said the work is expected to start and complete in July.
Salve Regina students are working over the summer to finish writing their grant
An econometrics class at Salve Regina University, which borders the Cliff Walk, has been working on underwriting a grant to the van Beuren Foundation to fund a comprehensive study of the entirety of the trail as a whole for the city to incorporate into a broader maintenance plan for the future.
Studying the Cliff Walk: What will it take to fix the Cliff Walk? Here's why Salve students got a firsthand look
Since then, Salve Regina has moved on to the summer semester and several students have graduated, however, Professor Sam Sacco and a few of his students are still working on completing the grant proposal over the summer. Although she graduated this spring, Molly Hanrahan is continuing to aid the grant underwriting process alongside Sacco, and said the group is now working to study how the collapse impacts visitation to the famous trail.
“Theoretically, if Molly hadn’t been able to join in this effort, there would have been a void in the preparation of the grant to van Beuren,” Janaros said.
Despite the extra attention, the commission’s fundraising campaign has yielded little in donations
The Cliff Walk Commission’s Cliff Walk Together campaign, which launched a little over a year ago to fund maintenance for the trail, has had few donations since its inception despite the increase in attention following the trail collapse.
The city recently added more signage to promote the campaign, which accepts donations via texting “CLIFF” to 56512 or by scanning a QR code and donating through Paypal or Venmo, however it received just $5 from one donor within the past 30 days. Overall, the campaign has received $4,235 in donations, which go directly to the city’s Cliff Walk Fund.
Commission member Donna Lennox said they have been working to add more ways for people to donate, such as through Apple Pay or Google.
"It's very disappointing," Lennox said.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport Cliff Walk collapse investigation continues
