Army Corps awards contract for Cape May City beachfill project

Published July 26, 2019
In 2013, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project. Sand is pumped through a basket on the beach as part of a screening system.

In 2013, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project. Sand is pumped through a basket on the beach as part of a screening system.

Construction equipment pushes sand into an engineered beach template as part of the 2017 periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project.

Construction equipment pushes sand into an engineered beach template as part of the 2017 periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project.

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (During Construction Photo from January of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (During Construction Photo from January of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township project (Photo from May of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township project (Photo from May of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (Photo from February of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (Photo from February of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (Photo from February of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (Photo from February of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (Photo from February of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (Photo from February of 2017).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project. Before and after photos of an area on U.S. Coast Guard property shows significant erosion prior to sand placement.

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project. Before and after photos of an area on U.S. Coast Guard property shows significant erosion prior to sand placement.

Before and After U.S. Coast Guard Property 2011 and 2012 - USACE completed a periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project in 2011-2012. The graphic shows the severely eroded condition prior to nourishment along a section of beach on U.S. Coast Guard Training Center property.

Before and After U.S. Coast Guard Property 2011 and 2012 - USACE completed a periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project in 2011-2012. The graphic shows the severely eroded condition prior to nourishment along a section of beach on U.S. Coast Guard Training Center property.

The hydraulic cutterhead dredge Texas, owned and operated by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, dredges off of Cape May as part of a periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project in January of 2012.
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The hydraulic cutterhead dredge Texas, owned and operated by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, dredges off of Cape May as part of a periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project in January of 2012.

In 2011-2012, USACE completed a periodic nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township project (Photo from November of 2011).
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In 2011-2012, USACE completed a periodic nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township project (Photo from November of 2011).

In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (photo from February of 2017).
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In 2017, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May to Lower Township project (photo from February of 2017).

In 2007, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township project. The hopper dredge Atchafalaya, owned by Cashman Dredging, can be seen in Cold Spring Inlet.
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In 2007, USACE completed periodic nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township project. The hopper dredge Atchafalaya, owned by Cashman Dredging, can be seen in Cold Spring Inlet.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District awarded a contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oak Brook, Ill. for $7.6 million to complete periodic nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township (Cape May City) Coastal Storm Risk Management project. The project is a joint effort of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The contract calls for dredging approximately 240,000 cubic yards of sand from a borrow area approximately 2.6 miles south of the Cape May Inlet jetties. The sand will be pumped onto the beach at two locations:

  • U.S. Coast Guard Training Center property south of the jetty
  • Between Brooklyn Ave and north/east of Wilmington Ave., Cape May City  

The sand is then built into the engineered template, which is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company is expected to begin dredging and beachfill operations in the fall of 2019. The federal government (Army Corps and U.S. Coast Guard) is funding approximately 90 percent of the costs and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is funding approximately 10 percent of the costs.   

Project Background

The Cape May Inlet to Lower Township beachfill project is located on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey, extending from the southwest jetty of Cape May Inlet to 3rd Ave. in Cape May City. It includes the communities of the City of Cape May and Lower Township, and the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center. The initial construction of a 25 to 180-foot wide berm at elevation +6.7 feet (NAVD 88) was completed in 1991. The project has been renourished in subsequent years. The project is a joint effort of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events.


Contact
Steve Rochette
215-656-6432
stephen.rochette@usace.army.mil

Release no. 19-015