7,465 Tons of Sand Replenished According to Engineering Study

May 4, 2006 | Beach Prisms

Are Beach Prisms the Answer to Reducing Shoreline Erosion?

MIDLAND, Va. – “Beach Prisms can be the answer to the age-old challenge of shoreline erosion,” says Ashley Smith, vice president for sales and marketing at Smith-Midland Corporation of Midland, Va.

After 18 years of product testing at more than 20 sites on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers, Smith-Midland is now offering Beach Prisms for sale and installation.

“Our experience has proven that Beach Prisms either slow the rate of shore erosion, stop erosion or reverse erosion by replenishing sand in front of and behind the Prisms,” said Smith.

What are Beach Prisms?

Beach Prisms are permeable, precast concrete products that work by reducing the amount of energy in incoming waves before the waves reach the shoreline. Waves pass through the specially designed slots in the triangular 3- or 4- foot tall, 10-foot long Beach Prisms.

According to Smith, the success of a Beach Prisms installation is dependent on the prevailing wind in relation to the shoreline, the tides, the fetch and the availability of sand in the surf. Beach Prisms are for river- and bay-front property owners who want an alternative to traditional armor stone, or groins and jetties. Beach Prisms are jointly permitted by state and federal agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers.

An engineering study (see insert) by Lane Engineering Inc., of Centreville, Md., was conducted at the Terrapin Nature Area on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, located about one-half mile north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Queen Anne’s County. The installation survived Hurricane Isabel with only minor Beach Prisms dislocation, according to the study.

Easi-Set Industries plans to license Beach Prisms to precast concrete producers worldwide. Easi-Set Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of Smith-Midland Corp., licenses the production of Smith-Midland developed products to precasters in 23 states and eight foreign countries, with a total of 43 licensed contracts currently in force. For more information please call (540) 439-3266, visit www.SmithMidland.com or www.BeachPrisms.com.

Smith-Midland Corporation is a publicly traded company (OTC BB: SMID) that has been in continuous operation for more than 46 years. Smith-Midland develops, manufactures and sells a broad array of precast concrete products for use primarily in the construction, transportation and utilities Industries. The company is known for the J-J Hooks Precast Concrete Highway Safety Barrier used on most roadways in Maryland and Virginia. It also pioneered the use of precast concrete sound barrier in those states. The company has a reputation as America’s most innovative precast concrete company, having successfully introduced more than a dozen precast concrete products to the marketplace. Some of these products, in addition to the J-J Hooks barrier and the Sierra Wall sound barrier, include the

Easi-Set underground Utility Vault, the Smith Cattleguard , precast concrete fireplaces and SlenderWall exterior cladding panels for buildings between five and 50 stories tall. Smith-Midland has two manufacturing facilities located in Midland, Virginia and Reidsville, North Carolina.