Posted on September 6, 2016
As Hurricane Hermine moves up the Eastern Seaboard, the state announced Friday its plans to beef up beach protection in the Atlantic City area.
The Absecon Island project is intended to reduce damage to 8.1 miles of beachfront from Brigantine Inlet to Great Egg Inlet. More than 3.8 million cubic yards of sand is anticipated to be used in the creation of dunes and berms.
“When completed, it will protect lives and properties on Absecon Island,” said Commissioner Bob Martin of the state Department of Environmental Protection in a statement. “I want to thank the Army Corps of Engineers for their continued leadership and mayors of these municipalities for their cooperation.”
The project is the first time Margate and Longport are having dunes installed on its beach. The dunes will be almost 13-feet high with a 100-foot-wide berm.
Margate fought to keep its beaches dune free but lost a legal battle in April, according to Philly.com.
Absecon Island is comprised of Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate and Longport. The state Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday that they will be going out to bid for the project. Funding will be provided the $1.2 billion that Congress appropriated for protecting beaches from storm damage after Superstorm Sandy struck the East Coast in 2012.
The bidding opens on Oct. 4 and work is expected to begin in the winter. According to the bid advertisement, the standard cost of similar projects is $27.5 million.
Atlantic City and Ventnor had dunes constructed in 2004. The upcoming work will include raising Atlantic City dunes to almost 15 feet with a 200-foot-wide berm installed and Ventnor dunes to almost 13 feet with a 100-foot-wide berm installed. Oriental and Jackson avenues in Atlantic City will also be filled with sand. A seawall, extending a third of a mile, will be constructed along the Inlet in Atlantic City.
“The City of Ventnor is excited to see the beach replenishment project moving forward and welcome the added protection our community will receive once the project is complete,” said Lance B. Landgraf Jr., deputy mayor of Ventnor, in a statement.
Source: nj.com
