Army Corps awards contract for Seven Mile Island beachfill

USACE Philadelphia District
Published Sept. 11, 2019
The Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet (Avalon and Stone Harbor) Coastal Storm Risk Management project includes the Townsends Inlet seawall in Avalon; the Hereford Inlet seawall in North Wildwood; and dune and beachfill in the communities of Avalon and Stone Harbor. The project is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events.

The Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet (Avalon and Stone Harbor) Coastal Storm Risk Management project includes the Townsends Inlet seawall in Avalon; the Hereford Inlet seawall in North Wildwood; and dune and beachfill in the communities of Avalon and Stone Harbor. The project is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District awarded a contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oak Brook, Ill. for $7.5 million to complete periodic nourishment of the Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet (Avalon and Stone Harbor) Coastal Storm Risk Management project. The project is a joint effort of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the communities of Avalon and Stone Harbor.

The contract calls for dredging approximately 425,000 cubic yards of sand from Townsends Inlet. The sand will be pumped onto the beach from the Townsends Inlet south jetty area to approximately 19th Street in Avalon. The sand is then built into an engineered template, which is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events. The contract includes options for dredging and placing additional sand.  

The contract also includes options to harvest sand in Stone Harbor. Sand harvesting involves using sand that has accumulated within the dune system above the Federal template to nourish the berm in front of the dune. USACE will conduct surveys of the beach before deciding whether to exercise the contract options to harvest sand.   

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company is expected to begin dredging and beachfill operations in the fall of 2019. The contract is cost shared between the federal government (65 percent of costs funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) and non-federal entities (35 percent of costs funded by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the municipalities).  

Project Background

The Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet project is located on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey. The project includes the Townsends Inlet seawall in Avalon; the Hereford Inlet seawall in North Wildwood; and dune and beachfill in the communities of Avalon and Stone Harbor. Initial construction of the 150-foot berm backed by a dune at elevation +14.75 (NAVD 88) was completed in 2002. The dune and beachfill project was nourished/repaired in 2011, 2013, and 2017. The project is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events.


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

Release no. 19-019