Delaware Bay Coastline, Roosevelt Inlet-Lewes Beach, DE

Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project

USACE Philadelphia District
Published Feb. 7, 2024
Project Index Map for Roosevelt Lewes Project

Project Index Map for Roosevelt Lewes Project

The Roosevelt Inlet-Lewes Beach project includes 1400 feet of beachfill with a 100 foot wide berm and a dune 15 feet above mean sea level.

The Roosevelt Inlet-Lewes Beach project includes 1400 feet of beachfill with a 100 foot wide berm and a dune 15 feet above mean sea level.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS: DE-AL

APPROPRIATION / PHASE: Construction, General

BUSINESS PROGRAM: Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction (with Mitigation of Federal Navigation Project)

AUTHORITY: House Committee Resolution dated 1 October 1986. The Delaware Bay Coastline, DE & NJ – Roosevelt Inlet-Lewes Beach, DE project was authorized for construction by Title I, Section 101 (a) (13) of WRDA 1999.

LOCATION: The project area is located along the Delaware Bay Coastline at Lewes Beach, Sussex County, Delaware.

DESCRIPTION: The plan proposed in the final feasibility report for the purposes of flood and coastal storm damage reduction and navigation mitigation is a 100-foot-wide berm at an elevation of +8.0 feet NAVD, and a dune at an elevation of +14.0 feet NAVD over a total project length of 1,400 feet. The selected plan includes dune grass, dune fencing and suitable advance beach fill and periodic nourishment every six years to ensure the integrity of the design. The plan also provides for reconstruction of the south jetty at Roosevelt Inlet. 

STATUS: Initial placement of beachfill was completed September 2004 while dune crossovers, sand fence, and dune grass were completed in December 2004.  The project has been repaired/nourished multiple times since initial construction. The FY23 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $4.5 million in funding to complete periodic nourishment. Work began in December 2023 and was completed in January 2024 (via hydraulic beachfill).  

Year

Activity

December 2004

Initial Construction

Nov. 2011-Jan. 2012

Periodic Nourishment

Oct. 2013-Nov. 2013

FCCE Repair (Sandy)

Dec. 2017-Jan. 2018

Periodic Nourishment

Dec 2023-Jan-2024

Periodic Nourishment 

PROJECT GOALS: The purpose of this project provides hurricane and coastal storm damage reduction and navigation mitigation at Roosevelt Lewes Beach, which includes dune grass, dune fencing, and suitable advance beach fill and periodic nourishment every six years.

SPONSOR: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. 

DATE OF PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT: 1 Nov 2002      

TARGET COMPLETION DATE: 2053

PROJECT MANAGER: Peter Gori