Rebuild or retreat? Newport eyes Cliff Walk’s eroding future

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT
Associated Press

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Newport, Rhode Island, is in a bind: Should the city continue propping up its landmark Cliff Walk, even though chunks of the path keep crumbling into the sea? Last week, coastal erosion punched out 30 feet (9 meters) of the paved trail, which winds its way beside Gilded Age mansions and the Atlantic Ocean below for around 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers). The breathtaking views have made it one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions, and a central part of Newport’s identity. Whether to rebuild or retreat is a question they’ve reckoned with before in Newport. Superstorm Sandy washed away sections of the Cliff Walk in 2012.