OCEAN COUNTY — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week awarded a $73.5 million contract for beach replenishment along the northern barrier island from the Manasquan Inlet to the Barnegat Inlet.
The contract, which would affect local beaches in Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, Mantoloking, Brick Township and Lavallette, was awarded to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company in Staten Island, New York, confirmed Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Officer Steve Rochette.
Rochette told The Ocean Star, “Work is cost-shared 50 percent federal and 50 percent non-federal. Work is designed to reduce the risk of storm damages to infrastructure.”
According to Rochette, the Army Corps of Engineers will be coordinating with the contractor in the coming weeks on the schedule.
The last beach replenishment on the north barrier island was completed in 2019, a $130 million project that focused on shoring up areas that suffered some of the most severe damage after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
Since that project was completed in 2019, severe beach erosion has occurred in Bay Head, Ortley Beach and parts of Mantoloking.
The current beachfill project originally was scheduled for 2022, but was postponed as a result of contract disputes and other legal challenges until this year.
Mantoloking Mayor Lance White said, “The Borough of Mantoloking is thrilled to hear that it appears the necessary contracts are being signed with Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company to begin the long-awaited beach replenishment that has been delayed approximately two years.”
There is a good possibility that the replenishment work will begin in December, depending on storms and any other variables, Mayor White said.
Mayor White told The Ocean Star that there will be no cost to any of the towns receiving assistance. The federal government, the state of New Jersey and the county will be financing the project.
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-4, said, “After several contracting delays, this long-awaited project to restore our beaches that have suffered considerable erosion over the past years is finally ready to move forward.”
“Our Shore communities will benefit greatly from the federal assistance and partnership to address significant safety concerns from beach erosion and help blunt damaging effects of major storms,” Smith said.
Mayor White said the original language of the easements that beach property owners signed in 2016 and 2017 included a 50-year contract stating, among other things, that the Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would monitor the beach and, if necessary, add sand every four years.
Brick Township is scheduled to receive 227,000 cubic yards of sand. Bay Head and Point Pleasant Beach are to receive 495,000 cubic yards of sand, with most of the sand being placed in Bay Head, with a smaller amount going in the southern area of Point Pleasant Beach. Lavallette is on track to receive 184,000 cubic yards of sand.
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Ocean Star —on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.
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