Westport’s East Beach Road Ripped Up by Winter Storm [PHOTOS]

Westport's shoreline bore the brunt of a severe storm this winter, temporarily rendering nearby roads impassable.

East Beach Road, in particular, at the southernmost part of town, showed scars reminiscent of a meteor shower, tearing up old asphalt and revealing frozen earth beneath. Shells and rocks from the shoreline were strewn across the road and the causeway leading to Gooseberry Island, also temporarily inaccessible to the public.

On a recent cloudy and bitterly cold day, a somber atmosphere pervaded the coast. Amid the crashing waves and the crunch of seashells beneath my boots, an unusual silence prevailed. Even the cries of seagulls seemed muffled.

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As I walked along the now-frozen Gooseberry Island Causeway, remnants of the high tide had tossed massive boulders like rag dolls into the middle of the road. Thousands of walnut-sized rocks and vacant hermit crab shells were chucked everywhere on this usually clean and orderly stretch.

On East Beach Road, planks of wood, old staircases and debris from nearby shacks lay in splintered piles. While larger vehicles navigated over rock mounds and deep crevices without issue, others patiently waited as the two-lane road narrowed to one.

Winter had settled in, and the bitter wind stung my face. The hustle of summer seemed distant, and repairs appeared unlikely in time for local and out-of-state beachgoers.

What remains of East Beach Road serves as a stark reminder that Mother Nature's force is real, and the aftermath of coastal storms is sometimes chaos.

It's not the first nor will it be the last time that Westport's beaches endure nature's fury. All we can do is clean up and rebuild.