Cliff Walk closed until further notice

NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) -- Communities across Southern New England were forced to brace for Wednesday night's Nor'easter just days after Hurricane Sandy struck the region.

Officials are making preparations to fix Newport's Cliff Walk after it was pounded by last week's storm, though they weren't too concerned about further damage since the biggest issue came from crashing waves during Sandy.

Their major concern is the $2 million price tag that comes along with the repairs ; a number that could grow soon after reconstruction begins.

The sign outside of the historic Newport location is clear - Cliff Walk closed. Town manager Jane Howington tells us it's going to be there for a while.

"There's quite a lot of destruction, there's quite a lot of large boulders that have gone, several of the private property embankments have been undermined and eroded, the fencing is all gone," she said.

The first portion of the cliff walk remains open after Hurricane Sandy tore apart the famous path around the Newport Mansions. The rest is in trouble, especially since the repairs present a logistical nightmare for workers.

"There's a concrete and stone arch bridge over a chasm, one half of that bridge doesn't have anything under that anymore," said Howington. "There's no structure to support it on that end and that's a big, major challenge."

Howington tells us that most of the walkway could be opened up by next summer.