After inspecting the Dike Bridge bulkhead this past weekend, the town of Edgartown has called for urgent repairs to the eastern, town-facing side of the bulkhead.

“It might be an emergency repair situation,” town administrator James Hagerty said in a select board meeting on Monday. “It’s going to need ample sand and ample packing ahead of the busy summer season.”

The Dike Bridge is jointly controlled by the town and The Trustees of Reservations, but subject to inspection by the state Department of Transportation. A bulkhead is a retaining wall that supports the bridge’s structure and protects against erosion.

After particularly high winds and tides this winter, Chappaquiddick residents alerted the Trustees and the town to the bulkhead’s deteriorating condition in a series of emails dating back to late December. Following those complaints, the town stepped forward to make immediate repairs in early January but conducted an additional inspection after this past weekend’s storm.

The Trustees Islands director Darci Schofield had also inspected the bridge and bulkhead Monday evening, but said she found no need for immediate repairs.

“We did not see any sign of erosion or scouring at the bulkhead,” she told the Gazette on Tuesday, but added that conversations with the town were forthgoing.

There is not yet a set timeline for if or when the bulkhead repairs will take place.

The most recent state inspection from September 2021 found minor to severe deficiencies in certain sections of the bulkhead but rated the bridge’s overall condition good. Ms. Schofield said that the Trustees took no immediate action following that inspection.

Since early January, the town and the Trustees have been in discussions to create a joint management agreement for the Dike bridge, which abuts several Trustees properties. The two have shared control of the bridge since its reconstruction in 1995.