The beaches of Margate, Longport, Ventnor and Atlantic City will soon get another face-lift.
Scheduled for every 3-4 years, it’s time for another round of dredging and beach replenishment along Absecon Island.
Absecon Island beach work could include:
- Widening of beaches
- Dune maintenance
- Work on beach access paths / crossovers
- Repair sand fencing
- Dune grass planting
- Lower the dunes that grew too high?
2 million cubic yards of sand will be dredged & pumped onto the beaches of Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate, and Longport.
Sand will come from Absecon Inlet and just offshore, a few miles out.
The 50-year dredging & beach project was spearheaded by former NJ Gov Chris Christie and former NJ Congressman, Frank Lobiondo.
Army Corps of Engineers’ awarded $23.8 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oak Brook, Illinois.
Beach project now managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, New Jersey DEP, (Department of Environmental Protection) and to a certain extent, local municipalities.
https://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Absecon-Island-Storm-Damage-Reduction/
Construction schedule to be announced soon.
Some Atlantic City issues:
- Severe erosion in front of Hard Rock, Showboat & Ocean casinos.
Ventnor issues:
- Southern beach erosion during full-moon high tides.
- Too high, non-compliant dune heights.
Initial construction of the beachfill component of the project was completed for Atlantic City and Ventnor in June 2004.
In November 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) awarded a contract to Weeks Marine Inc. to complete initial construction of the beachfill in Margate and Longport. Beachfill operations completed in April 2018.
In December 2014, USACE awarded a contract to J. Fletcher Cramer Inc. to complete the Absecon Inlet seawall and rebuild the historic Atlantic City boardwalk along the same section of the inlet frontage. The inlet work was completed in April 2018.
The project was turned over to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, after the completion of initial construction in each area for continuing Operations and Maintenance.
Absecon Island has little to no natural replenishment since the construction of the huge Inlet jetties on the north end of Absecon Island and the South end of Brigantine plus the on going dredging of the inlet to keep it open for commercial fishing and sports fishing boats. Before all of this Absecon Island started more then 100 yrs. ago sand moved across the shallow shoals of Absecon inlet making it one of the most dangerous inlets on the East Coast. All of the remedies above were at a steep cost. A sand Island requires a continuous flow of sand to be stable, it doesn’t matter where the sand comes from all that matters is that it arrives on the eroded northern beaches. Without it Absecon island will start to roll back towards the coast in Absecon. Don’t believe it, look at Brigantine from the new Boardwalk in the inlet sometime. Brigantine has already rolled back and the proof is the bay mud you can find on the beach in Northern Brigantine. So, Absecon Island absolutely needs to be artificially replenished for the foreseeable future.