Posted on January 31, 2018
By Molly Bilinski, PressofAC
The state Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Coastal Engineering and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are working on two projects totaling $29 million to repair southern Ocean County’s beaches and dunes that have suffered significant erosion from storms.
An $18.4 million project, funded by the DEP’s Shore Protection program, is using sand dredged from the southern portion of Little Egg Inlet, a major thoroughfare for recreational and commercial fishing boats between southern Long Beach Island and Brigantine, according to a DEP statement issued Tuesday.
“This project is designed to have the multiple benefits of restoring beaches that are economically vital for shore tourism and storm protection while making it safe for boaters to again use Little Egg Inlet,” said David Rosenblatt, DEP’s assistant commissioner for engineering and construction. “We look forward to having the project completed in time for the next tourism and boating season.”
Great Lakes Dock and Dredge Co. of Oak Brook, Illinois, started dredging the channel Jan. 18 to repair beaches and dunes in Holgate and Beach Haven. The channel has never been dredged before, and this project will clear a mile-long portion of the previously marked channel that is 24 feet below mean sea level. The company’s dredge, the “Texas,” is working in conjunction with two large booster pumps to pump sand onto beaches.
In Atlantic County, beaches and dunes in Brigantine that saw damage during a January 2016 storm will also be repaired using 755,000 cubic yards of dredged sand from Brigantine Inlet through a partnership between the city, the DEP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
That project, which started Jan. 19, will make repairs from north of 14th Street south to Roosevelt Avenue. It is being implemented by Weeks Marine Inc., of Cranford, and will cost $10.6 million, with $9.8 million provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city and DEP cost-sharing the balance.
Brigantine Inlet is not a navigation channel but has accumulated large shoals that can be used as a “borrow” area to provide sand for beaches and dunes, according to the release.
Work in Long Beach Township, Ocean County, began near Susan Avenue in Holgate, moving north, and has progressed to near Jeffries Avenue in Beach Haven. The work will take two more weeks, depending on weather.
Then, the dredge will begin operations near Rosemma Avenue and will work southward to the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge border, which will take about three weeks.
Depending on weather, work will be completed by mid-March, according to the release. In total, 700,000 cubic yards of sand will be moved from the inlet to the beaches. There is also an option to move an additional 300,000 cubic yards if necessary.
Source: PressofAC
