Posted on May 9, 2017
By Nicholas Huba, Press of Atlantic City
The state Department of Environmental Protection will not change its schedule for the upcoming $63 million Absecon Island beach-replenishment project despite concerns from the city it could impact its busy summer season.
That was the message state representatives gave city officials during a meeting Friday over the timing of the project. The project will start next week in Atlantic City. The project is expected to start June 8 in Ventnor.
Margate’s dunes will be built after Ventnor’s, and the project will start in Longport around Sept. 20.
“While we had a productive meeting, there is no change to the anticipated schedule,” City Commissioner Lance Landgraf said. “DEP and Corps (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) will do their best to adjust the work around our summer events.”
The project, which covers the island’s 8.1-mile dune system, calls for a 200-foot-wide berm and a dune built to an elevation of nearly 15 feet above sea level in Atlantic City, according to a statement from the DEP. A 100-foot-wide berm and a dune to an elevation of nearly 13 feet above sea level will be built in Downbeach towns.
About 3.8 million cubic yards of sand will be dredged to construct the dunes and replenish the beaches.
The project will include dune crossovers for public access, placement of sand fencing, dune-grass plantings and the repair or extension of existing stormwater outfalls and drainage structures.
“As we have stated all along, Ventnor supports the dune projects and the protection they provide to our community,” Landgraf said. “We had hoped to get some relief, but the Army Corps is under contract with Weeks Marine to get the work done in a specific time period and there was nothing that can be done to change the schedule. We believe we got our point across to State and the Corps, that we were not happy, but in the end the dunes need to be constructed.”
Source: PressofAC.com
