More damage was done late Thursday and early Friday to the wall along Lake Front Boulevard in Dunkirk from high winds and waves. Photo by Jo Ward

DUNKIRK — Winds whipped at record setting heights Thursday night, making Halloween all but impossible for any trick-or-treaters to enjoy.

Rain poured down, as trees, power lines and yard decor was torn to shreds, however, nothing in the city of Dunkirk was as decimated as the $4 million retaining wall that borders Lake Erie along Lake Front Boulevard.

The retaining wall, which had been hard hit following Sunday’s storm, was already damaged, with one-ton capstones moved in some places by as much as a foot; Rebar snapped in two. Following Thursday’s north east winds, that topped 65 MPH at one point, the wall was completely ripped apart.

Little was done that night for safety reasons, but the following morning saw Randy Woodbury, director of public works for the city, bringing as much expertise as he could muster on such short notice.

“We brought in two engineers who are working on the water plant right now,” Woodbury said. “They were independent, had not worked on the wall during its initial construction, making them completely objective.”

Woodbury said where the problem lies is in the design itself, specifically the railing.

“The railing consists of three parts: the base blocks, the capstones, which look like blocks of sidewalk, and the metal hand rail. Anything from street level up is considered the railing and it was a gravity construction,” Woodbury said. “The foundation is solid and held up well, however this gravity design is not good for our area.”

Gravity construction basically means that the entire railing system was held together using the weight of the blocks themselves with gravity; nothing was used to connect the blocks to the foundation.

“There were notches that allowed for horizontal movement, but nothing for vertical,” Woodbury added. “What happened was that the waves blew up the wall from underneath, catching the capstones like a sail and lifting them off. They basically acted like a surf board, which is why they all came off and landed together for the most part.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the area, which allows Dunkirk an opportunity to receive emergency funds from the state and possibly the federal government, which will help in the repairs.

“It’ll be easy to fix, however we want to do it right. No one in the administration knew this was how this was designed; it was a latent condition we inherited,” Woodbury noted. “We’re learning, now we know and we want to make it right.”

At this time, all roads leading to and including Lake Front Boulevard, have been blocked off to all traffic, including pedestrian. The city asks that nobody approach the wall and to let the city workers do what they need to repair it. It’s expected to be closed for at least a week as the city waits for the waves to calm down and a better analysis for the repairs can be made.