Project Photos

Project Background & Status

The Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Townsends Inlet project was authorized in 2007 but did not receive funding until 2013 when Congress enacted the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-2, or often referred to as the Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill). On November 10, 2014, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $57.6-million contract to the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company to complete the coastal storm damage reduction project from the southern end of Ocean City to Strathmere and Sea Isle. The project, which entails the construction of a dune and a berm, or beach, in front of each community, is a joint effort of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The initial construction project was completed in the spring of 2016. The project is eligible for periodic nourishment (on a 5-year cycle) pending adequate funding.

  • Ongoing periodic nourishment -  Work was completed in southern Ocean City in December 2023. Work was completed in Upper Township/Strathmere in January 2024. Work will take place with different equipment (hopper dredge) in Sea Isle City in early spring timeframe. 
  • First periodic nourishment - in September 2019, USACE awarded a contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company to complete periodic nourishment of two projects in Cape May County, N.J: the Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Townsends Inlet Project (Southern Ocean City, Strathmere and Sea Isle City) and the Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach project, which extends from the Seaview Road Groin to 34th Street in Ocean City. In the fall/winter of 2019, work was completed in Southern Ocean City and Strathmere. Work was completed in Northern Ocean City and Sea Isle City in the summer of 2020. 

Work in the southern end of Ocean City, from 34th Street to Corson's Inlet State Park, includes a federally constructed dune at elevation +12.8, with a width at the top of 25 feet, and a berm or beach extending 100 feet from the seaward base of the dune. On Ludlum Island, which includes Strathmere and Sea Isle, the federally constructed dune is built to elevation +14.8 and the berm is 50 feet wide. 

Dune System Animation During Potential Storm Event