Posted on April 26, 2023
After weather- and equipment-related delays, beach replenishment has begun in Rehoboth Beach.
New Jersey-based Weeks Marine began staging equipment a few weeks ago, with sand starting to be pumped earlier this week.
Rehoboth is slated to receive nearly 300,000 cubic yards of sand and dune fencing repair from the Deauville Beach area south to Delaware Avenue. According to a post on the city’s Facebook page, the dredge brings about 2,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach each trip and it takes 60 to 90 minutes to unload.
After Rehoboth, work will move to Dewey Beach, which will receive about 195,000 cubic yards of sand. Dewey’s sand will be placed on the beach from Saulsbury Street south to Beach Avenue.
The $23.8 million contract between the Army Corps of Engineers and Weeks Marine also calls for about 245,000 cubic yards in Bethany Beach, 287,000 cubic yards in South Bethany and 207,000 cubic yards in Fenwick Island. The sequence of work will be north to south. It’s estimated the 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week project will take at least two weeks in each community.
In Rehoboth, the project is slated to bring about 300,000 cubic yards of sand from the Deauville Beach area south to Delaware Avenue.
As seen from the roof of the Boardwalk Plaza, it takes a lot of equipment to make it work.
These Prius-sized cages catch any unwanted munitions that might get sucked up and pumped ashore.
In a couple of weeks, probably in time for Memorial Day, all this equipment will be gone and there will be a new beach.
Like a group of clydesdales getting ready to work, these tractors wait for the next shipment of sand to arrive.
The Boardwalk Plaza Hotel has made a sign to inform guests what’s going on.
In addition to the normal wear and tear on equipment, the saltwater adds another level.
The contractor’s dredge brings about 2,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach each trip and it takes 60 to 90 minutes to unload.
Constant wave action can make progress slow.
