Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced that the Port Monmouth flood control project will be funded by Army Corps of Engineers with federal dollars from the Sandy relief package passed by Congress in January.
On a “ telephone town hall ” call to Port Monmouth residents late last week, Pallone announced that the Army Corps of Engineers plans to address major flood prevention to protect the low-lying residential and commercial areas in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown Township. The plans will include the construction of nearly 7,070 feet of levees, 3,585 feet of floodwalls and 2,640 feet of dune and beach renourishment.
The entire $91 million project will be funded by the Sandy relief package and will offer significant protection to the area, which has suffered frequent flooding, erosion and damage from rain and coastal storms.
“ Many in Port Monmouth faced serious flooding during Sandy, ” said Pallone. “ All along the Bayshore, flooding has become an increasingly common phenomenon as severe storms have become more frequent and residential and commercial development has increased. That’s why I’m pleased to announce that, due to funds included in the Sandy aid package and based on my conversations with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Corps has the funds necessary to complete the entire Port Monmouth flood control project.”
Pallone noted that the scope of the work to be complete by the Army Corps of Engineers represented an unprecedented investment in flood protection and beach replenishment in New Jersey’s Sixth Congressional District, much of which took on some of the worst damage dealt by Superstorm Sandy.
The first phase of the project, slated to being in late 2013 or early 2014, includes dune restoration, beach replenishment, the construction of a terminal groin and extension of the fishing pier, involving roughly 400,000 cubic yards of sand. The larger flood control aspect of the project, which includes levees, floodwalls, a pumping station and a tide gate, will begin construction in early 2015.
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Press Release, March 19, 2013