Posted on November 11, 2021
Eight state channels will be restored to safe navigable depths
(Trenton) – New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials today announced the start of a navigation dredging project next week in the Manasquan River complex in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
The $7.2 million project will restore eight channels to a state of good repair to provide boaters safe access for enhanced recreational and economic activity. This project includes dredging the Sawmill Creek Riviera Beach, Glimmer Glass, Watson’s Creek, Sherman’s Creek, Wills Hole Thorofare, Manasquan Yacht Club, Clarke’s Landing and Debbie’s Creek Channels.
The project will remove approximately 88,000 cubic yards (CY) of material from the eight channels. Sawmill Creek Riviera Beach, Glimmer Glass, Watson’s Creek, Sherman’s Creek channels will be restored to an authorized depth of 7 feet below Mean Low Water.
Manasquan Yacht Club, Clarke’s Landing and Debbie’s Creek Channels will be restored to a depth of 6 feet below Mean Low Water, and Wills Hole Thorofare Channel will be restored to depth of 14 feet below Mean Low Water.
NJDOT’s contractor, H&L Contracting LLC., is expected to begin dredging Wills Hole Thorofare on Tuesday, August 4. The Dog Beach in Fisherman’s Cove Park will be closed to allow the placement of beach-quality sand. Dredging operations for this part of the project are expected to continue 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week for a few weeks.
The project will utilize both hydraulic and mechanical dredging methods and the material will be taken to two locations. The first placement location will be at the Dog Beach at Fisherman’s Cove Conservation Area, where 30,000 CY of beach-quality sand from Wills Hole Thorofare Channel will be placed. The sand will be hydraulically pumped on to the beach, and a bulldozer will be used to grade the material into place.
In mid-September, work will move to a second location at the site of the new overflow parking lot for Fisherman’s Cove, just to the south of the current parking lot off 3rd Avenue. Once a dewatering site is set up in the lot, dredging is expected to resume in October and continue 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week through the end of December 2021.
The dredged material will be pumped to this location where it will be dewatered using geotextile bags that allow the water to separate from the particles. Clean water will be pumped back to the Manasquan River. Once the material is sufficiently dewatered, which takes between six to eight weeks, it will be trucked to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center (MCRC) in Tinton Falls for beneficial use as landfill cover.
Members of the public should avoid all marked work areas. The beach will be closed in sections during beach placement activities. Please be cautious of heavy machinery operating on the beach and parking lot areas, and do not attempt to play in the outflow from the hydraulic dredging operation.
Mariners should be advised that State Aids to Navigation (ATON) may be removed for the duration of the project. All mariners, including those utilizing human powered craft, should be especially alert to project pipeline routes and crossings. Updates to the Local Notice to Mariners will be posted as the project progresses.
The public is advised to be aware of and stay alert to the pipeline, buoys, dredge and other equipment during this time. NJDOT asks that no one approach the pipeline or dredge under any circumstances, whether or not active dredging operations are observed.
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