U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) secured $23 million in 2025 to address severe coastal erosion at Camp Ellis in Saco, a project that took a major step forward this week with the Maine Army Corps of Engineers awarding a construction contract for a spur jetty.
The funding will support construction of a 750-foot spur jetty and the replenishment of an estimated 300,000 cubic yards of sand fill, with the first phase of construction expected to be completed by August 2027.
“The awarding of a construction contract is a key step in building a spur jetty at Camp Ellis,” Sen. Collins said. “As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to secure this funding, which will protect against the severe erosion that has destroyed dozens of residents’ homes over generations, and restore the receding shoreline.”
Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail praised Sen. Collins for her persistence in advancing the project. “She has been a never-ending advocate in our partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers to secure our jetty in an attempt to protect our shoreline and all the residents who live there,” MacPhail said.
More than 150 years ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a jetty near the mouth of the Saco River beside Camp Ellis Beach, later expanding it in the 1950s. That jetty altered the pattern of currents and sand deposition along the shoreline and is considered the primary cause of the severe erosion that followed. Thirty-eight homes have been washed away, and the erosion has left the 1998 shoreline sitting 400 feet inland from its 1908 position, according to the senator’s office.