Ventnor Beach Work Complete. Margate Still Suffers from Dune Related Flooding.

Pic by Patty Deroo

After a summer’s full of vacation disruption, the iron dredge pipes along Ventnor beaches have been removed and trucked to Longport, where dune work will begin sometime in October.

Dune work and flood remediation continues in Margate, as street and beach flooding plague this portion of the project.

‘Cliffing’ and steep drop-offs  have been noted thru-out Margate & Ventnor. Sand cliffs are created the surf eating away and the extended, elevated beaches. This increases public safety issues.

The Margate & Ventnor dune & beach project has not been kind to the local economy.

Mid-summer beach work hurt the rentals and Real Estate market, restaurants and other local attractions. Estimates of $3mil+ in losses have been reported.

Longport will see the dredge pipe come ashore between 29th and Pelham Ave. Work will focus on the southern tip first, then work it’s way up to Margate to finish the last remaining blocks there.

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection and The Army Corp of engineers have faced heat, not only with the timing, but with the one-size-fits-all solution they forced all towns to take.

Officials not impressed that 99% of all Hurricane Sandy insurance claims were due to damage from back-bay flooding, not ocean-front waves.

Residents of Ventnor Heights are livid that no monies were directed to solution that could alleviate the chronic flooding in that part of town.

A settlement between Margate & the state is still being negotiated.  According to the ShoreNewsToday: “It will address the drainage, how to fix it and who’s going to pay for it,” he said. “It’s not resolved yet, but we’re getting there. They realize this is an ongoing issue created by the project.”

Sources tell DownBeachBUZZ that a settlement will consist of storm pipes that collect run-off water from the streets. The buried pipes then shuttles the it into the surf via outfall pipes.

Nassau Ave in Margate is now experiencing street flooding, ever since dune construction.

“Currently, our subcontractor moves pumps to the different sump areas after a rain event. Dedicated automated pumps for every sump point north of Iraquois Avenue are being added,” he said.

The two courts involved in ongoing litigation will have status conferences this month, he said.

All parties will return to Judge Renee Bumb on Sept. 15, to update.

They will meet with Judge Julio Mendez on Sept. 25.

Margate plagued by more beach and street flooding caused by newly built dune system. Crew are constantly fixing clogged pumps.

Army Corp of Engineers hired Weeks Marine contractor to carry out flawed workplans. Walters Marine contractor was eventually hired to clean up the mess created by Weeks Marine contractor.

All parties quiet (and embarrassed) about project….but all the extra billing they rack up, makes it easier to handle.

Note: There are multiple mountains of sand in odd places thru-out Margate & Ventnor. These large mounds are not connected to dunes. Allegations suggest these sand dumps are just another easy way to increase total cubic yards of sand pumped….in order to jack up the payday for those who financially benefit from this pork-laden project from hell.