Sandy Destroys Dunes, Closes New Bridge

This is probably the worst news for the coastal highway and the coastal beaches of Delaware and Maryland. It appears the bridge will not reopen until November 4 or 5.
Cape Gazette:

By late afternoon Nov. 1, state transportation officials were still not sure whether the Indian River Inlet bridge would reopen for weekend traffic. The bridge was closed Oct. 28 as Hurricane Sandy approached the Delaware coast.
On Oct. 31, one lane of Route 1 south was opened to emergency vehicles only.
As Hurricane Sandy pushed northward toward the Mid-Atlantic region, a wind-driven high tide and waves pushed tons of sand and water across the highway, eventually reaching across to the marsh on the west side of the roadway. The water came first, followed by blowing sand that piled up quickly as storm conditions worsened during the day and into the night of Oct. 28.
As soon as conditions improved, state officials assessed the situation, and what they saw was astounding.
Several feet of sand covered both sides of Route 1 for half a mile on the north side of the bridge.
At least a half mile of dunes was lost, said Frank Piorko, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Division of Watershed Stewardship. The good news is that nature is already starting to rebuild the destroyed beach, said Tony Pratt, administrator of DNREC's Shoreline and Management Section.

More HERE. Plenty of pictures, too.

And so it goes.