A small set of stairs leading to a Cape Cod beach has required $1 million worth of repairs over the last 25 years, a new report reveals.

Officials have replaced a wooden staircase at Cape Cod National Seashore’s Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, several times since 2001, costing an estimated $1 million in total, according to the Cape Cod Times.

The stairs often require repairs because of coastal erosion, which is caused by powerful nor’easter storms, according to the Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Thanks to coastal erosion, Marconi Beach loses an estimated three to six feet of ocean bluff every year.

The most recent stair replacement, completed last year, cost $124,000 and was funded by the Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore, according to the Cape Cod Times. Another replacement in 2024 reportedly cost $246,000 and was funded by the National Park Service.

And the current steps, installed less than a year ago, are already facing issues after a Feb. 23 blizzard caused further erosion to the bluff behind the stairs, the outlet reports.

Now, the newspaper has asked if there will come a time when officials will determine that the stairway replacement costs have become too high. The answer will depend on future budgets, funding sources and available resources, Cape Cod National Seashore Acting Superintendent Leslie Reynolds told the outlet.

William Burke, a cultural resources program manager and Seashore historian, said officials have discussed better options — but are still bound by key regulations.

"Every time we sit around this table, we ask, ‘Is there a better way that we can do it?’” he told the Cape Cod Times in January.

“I’ve seen work groups with the best park minds going over every possible option they have, but we have a standard of public access that must meet code, and provide access for all ages and abilities, so we can’t just throw over a rope ladder every summer,” he added.

The Independent has contacted the Cape Cod National Seashore for comment.

Marconi Beach is named for the Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, who in 1903 transmitted the “first two-way transatlantic wireless radio communication between the U.S. and England” near the beach, according to the National Park Service. The beach is also near the site of the Whydah, a pirate ship that became the subject of local legends after it wrecked offshore in 1717.

Marconi Beach is a popular destination for swimmers and surfers.

“The area offers wild pristine nature in all directions. The coastal bluff that runs the backside of Cape Cod is around 50 feet in height here, and a stairway leads down to the sandy beach,” the National Park Service’s website reads.