The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District and its contractor will begin restoring the previously constructed Coastal Storm Damage Reduction project on Long Beach Island later this month.
The Army Corps’ Philadelphia District awarded a $30.6 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company on April 24th to restore the previously constructed segments of the project along Long Beach Island. Work involves placing approximately 3 million cubic yards of sand to rebuild engineered beaches within the Boroughs of Harvey Cedars, Surf City and Brant Beach in Long Beach Township. In addition to beachfill, work includes the replacement of dune crossovers, sand fencing, and the replanting of dune grasses.
The project is currently scheduled to begin prior to the end of May, with construction beginning in Harvey Cedars and Brant Beach, and then moving on to Surf City. Construction is expected to last approximately 120 days once begun in Harvey Cedars, 100 days in Brant Beach and then 60 days in Surf City after the completion of work in Harvey Cedars.
“ Our goal is to have as much of the project repaired and restored prior to this year’s hurricane season and all of the project restored prior to the onset of dangerous fall nor’easters ,” said USACE Philadelphia District Project Manager Keith Watson.
The entire project is scheduled to be complete by the end of October 2013.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin posting construction schedule updates and closure maps on its website in the next week. Contractors typically close 2-3 block sections of beach as work progresses.
Work on Long Beach Island is part of a larger effort to restore projects damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ New York and Philadelphia Districts are placing approximately 16 million cubic yards of sand to restore beaches in New Jersey.
The Army Corps of Engineers is carrying out this near-term coastal restoration work through two statutory authorities, one previously existing and one that is new since Hurricane Sandy through the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-2). These authorities allow USACE to repair and restore previously constructed coastal storm risk reduction projects impacted by Hurricane Sandy.
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Press Release, May 15, 2013