The National Park Service is seeking public comment on a plan to stabilize parts of the York River shoreline. The shoreline has been eroding and is threatening the stability of the Colonial Parkway at Colonial National Historical Park.
According to the plan, 4.2 miles of the parkway are in “close proximity” to the York River. Erosion has been a problem for years and has been countered with the placement of structural defenses along the shoreline, though strong storms in late 2009 “markedly increased shoreline erosion.” Hurricane Sandy’s downpour pushed water from the York River over the shoreline at points along the Indian Field Creek stretch of the Parkway, causing water to pool along the roadside.
The first phase of the project will begin atIndian Field Creek and extend to approximately 1,300 feet east of Indian Field Creek, said Dorothy Geyer, a Natural Resource Specialist with NPS. Future phases of the project will each require a plan to be drawn upthat pertains to each particular area, according to the statement. The statement calls for “comprehensive action” in the near term to prevent undermining the structural integrity of the parkway at several locations. NPS has performed spot treatments in the past to handle areas that are eroding too fast.
The statement says there are three options, one of which is taking no action. The second option was selected as the best. It calls for shoreline stabilization techniques prescribed by a shoreline management plan from the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences.
The improved revetment at Indian Field Creek will provide at least 10 years of protection, hopefully 20, Geyer said. A revetment is a big rock wall that divides a hillside from water. The waves and storm surge from the water causes the hill to erode. NPS has had to counter hillside erosion into water since the 1930s.
Officials in the 1930s installed plants on the hillside with the hope that the root structures would stabilize the hill and prevent erosion. As time went on, they built revetments which now need to be upgraded. Geyer said NPS has to be especially careful with any work they do in the area as there are numerous historical artifacts in the land, and they are required to preserve and protect them. 
The revetment efforts will also include a barge port, which is a temporary assembly that allows barges to float the rock to the construction sites. Once the construction is finished, the port can be removed without affecting the land, Geyer said. The rock in the current revetment will be re-used as the foundations for the new revetment, according to the statement.
“This won’t have any impact on groundwater or species,” Geyer said. “It will have a positive impact in preventing the land from being washed out.”
Geyer said the construction shouldn’t take long. NPS hopes the project should take no more than six months. As for other revetment projects, Geyer said Colonial National Historical Park is on a list for federal funds in 2014.
The no-action alternative would allow for repair to existing shoreline defenses, and additional repairs would be conducted as needed based off of imminent threats to the parkway. This option was not selected because it does not meet the needs already in place, according to the statement.
The statement can be reviewed online by clicking here. Comments will be accepted through Dec. 20.
Comments can also be sent to:
Superintendent, Colonial National Historical Park
Repair and Stabilize the York River Shoreline to protect the Colonial Parkway environmental assessment
Attn: Dorothy Geyer
P.O. Box 210
Yorktown, Virginia 23690
Photos by Gregory Connolly
