Posted on August 7, 2024
POINT PLEASANT BEACH ‑ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started to dredge the Manasquan Inlet on Tuesday to address the dangerous buildup of sand along the jetty on the Point Pleasant Beach side of channel.
The Corps is using the dredge Murden, which was already stationed on the Manasquan River but doing work in Shark River, the next inlet up the coast.
Stephen Rochette, a spokesperson for the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District, said they were able to get two cycles in on Tuesday before the storm hit. He said they may do more cycles during crew changes and will conduct dredging operations later this month.
Rochette said the sand from the dredge is being placed north of the inlet to support the beaches of Manasquan and because sand drifts north along the coast.
“We are very grateful to Lt. Col. (Jeffrey) Beeman and his team from the Philadelphia Army Corps for their quick response to our concerns over the dangerous shoaling in the Manasquan Inlet that poses serious navigational hazards to boaters during this especially busy time of the year on the Jersey Shore,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R- N.J. “(Point Pleasant Beach) Mayor (Douglas) Vitale was also quick to help ensure that this important safety issue was raised and addressed as soon as possible.”
Smith, who helped lead efforts to get the inlet dredged in 2022 the last time it has shoaled, had written to the Army Corps this weekend urging the Corps to start emergency dredging in the inlet, which connects the Manasquan River to the Atlantic Ocean. Vitale told the Asbury Park Press that he had also contacted the Corps.
Fishing boat captains said the shoaling is the worse it’s been in the inlet in recent memory. Capt. William Egerter Jr. of the party fishing vessel Dauntless said it reached out to about one third of the inlet’s mouth and was at least 50 yards back. Egerter described it as a “beach.”
The Asbury Park Press observed people standing and fishing on the shoal and walking their dogs there on Monday. Elected leaders and the Corps are warning people to stay off.
The cause of the shoal is still to be determined, but it’s most likely the persistent south wind and swell pushing the sand in. The conditions are similar to the summer of 2022.
In the 1920s, the natural inlet completely sanded in after the Point Pleasant Canal was dug, forcing the Corps to stabilize the waterway and construct the present inlet.
Sand shoaling off the south side of the Manasquan Inlet in Point Pleasant Beach Monday, August 5, 2024.
