New Jersey Shore Protection, Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach, (Ocean City), NJ

Ocean City Coastal Storm Risk Management

USACE Philadelphia District
Published Feb. 7, 2024
The Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach, (Ocean City) project was first constructed in 1992 and has been periodically nourished over the years resulting in a wider beach. The project is designed to reduce damages from coastal storms.

The Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach, (Ocean City) project was first constructed in 1992 and has been periodically nourished over the years resulting in a wider beach. The project is designed to reduce damages from coastal storms.

Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach project consists of providing initial beachfill, with subsequent periodic nourishment from Surf Road southwest to 34th Street in Ocean City, NJ with a 1,000-foot taper south of 34th Street.

Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach project consists of providing initial beachfill, with subsequent periodic nourishment from Surf Road southwest to 34th Street in Ocean City, NJ with a 1,000-foot taper south of 34th Street.

The Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach, (Ocean City) project was first constructed in 1992 and has been periodically nourished over the years resulting in a wider beach. The project is designed to reduce damages from coastal storms.

The Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach, (Ocean City) project was first constructed in 1992 and has been periodically nourished over the years resulting in a wider beach. The project is designed to reduce damages from coastal storms.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS: NJ-2

APPROPRIATION / PHASE: Construction, General

BUSINESS PROGRAM: Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction

AUTHORITY: Committee Resolution on December 15, 1970 under the provisions of Section 201 of P.L. 89-298. Project reauthorized with provisions for construction of separable elements under Section 831(1) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, P.L. 99-662.

LOCATION: The project is located in Cape May County, New Jersey. Great Egg Harbor Inlet provides a tidal connection from the Atlantic Ocean to Great Egg Harbor Bay and the NJIWW. Peck Beach is occupied in its entirety by the City of Ocean City and extends from Great Egg Harbor Inlet southwest to Corson Inlet, a distance of about 8 miles.

DESCRIPTION: The project consists of providing initial beach fill, with subsequent periodic nourishment, with a minimum berm width of 100 feet at an elevation of +8.0 National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD). The beach fill extends from Surf Road southwest to 34th Street with a 1,000-foot taper south of 34th Street. This plan required the initial placement of approximately 6.2 million cubic yards of material and subsequent periodic nourishment of approximately 1.1 million cubic yards every 3 years. The material for the initial construction and periodic nourishment is being taken from the ebb shoal area located approximately 5,000 feet offshore of the Great Egg Harbor Inlet. This periodic dredging of the ebb shoal area will help alleviate the navigation difficulties in the inlet. Additionally, the initial construction of the project required the extension of 38 storm drain pipes. 

STATUS: Initial construction completed in 1992; periodic nourishment cycle is every 3 years. Most recently, periodic nourishment took place between the fall of 2022 and February of 2023. 

PROJECT GOALS: For the purpose of hurricane and storm damage reduction, this project provides a beach fill with periodic nourishment, and a berm along Surf Road southwest to 34th Street in great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach.

DATE OF PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT: 18 September 1991

SPONSOR: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

TARGET COMPLETION DATE: 2041

PROJECT MANAGER: Carmen Zappile