The long-running North Bluff coastal bank restoration project in Oak Bluffs is on time and under budget, town officials learned during a walking tour at the site this week.

But underlining concerns from neighbors, the small swimming beach at the site has all but disappeared.

At the Tuesday tour, project manager Dave Lager said he is confident the restoration is going as planned and expects the project to come in under the $5.6 million originally estimated.

“I don’t see any major problems that would delay the June 30 finish at this point,” Mr. Lager said. “We just haven’t had any change orders. Right now we’re in great shape.”

Next phase in project involves restoring beachfront with dredged sand. — Steve Myrick

Northern Construction Service of Weymouth is the contractor on the job.

The work has involved the installation of a steel retaining wall supported by rods anchored 30 feet into the coastal bank that runs from a point near the mouth of the harbor to the Steamship Authority pier. A stone revetment built at the base of the steel wall, intended to break the force of heavy waves, is scheduled to be completed in a few more days.

Mr. Lager said work crews are installing a timber boardwalk of South American hardwood at a rate of about 50 feet per day, and he expects the majority of the structure to be done by the end of May.

He also said a substantial part of the coastal bank will be filled back in by Memorial Day. Material from the bank was removed and stored off site, in order to get heavy equipment situated above the sea wall.

Mr. Lager said he expects access to the state fishing pier to be restored before Memorial Day. The entrance to the pier was removed at the start of the project, was designed to integrate with the boardwalk, and has already been reassembled.

Meanwhile, mobile trailers, materials and heavy equipment will remain at the site through June. The equipment currently occupies most of the parking spots along Sea View avenue extension.

“It’s never ideal to have construction in June,” said selectman Kathy Burton during the walking tour. “I think they’ve done an amazing job on the schedule given the weather challenges they faced. We’ve got a month and a half, so I think we’re good.”

The project remains an ongoing source of controversy, especially among neighbors who have expressed repeated concerns about the unattractiveness of the steel retaining wall, and more importantly about the loss of the small swimming beach that has been used for generations. As the next phase in the project, the conservation commission plans to renourish the beach using sand from dredge spoils, but no permits are in place yet for the work.

During the tour Tuesday at mid-tide, water lapped at the base of the seawall along most of its length, leaving little access for walking on the beach. Planning board chairman Brian Packish said his concerns about losing the beach have been confirmed.

“It’s as bad, or greater, than I thought it would be,” Mr. Packish said after viewing the project. “How we used to use this area and how we’ll be using it now is obviously never going to be the same. The steel is what it is. It’s not all that aesthetically pleasing. We’ve been made a lot of promises about what’s going to happen to the beach next, and I’m looking forward to that chapter.”