Army Corps awards contract for Ocean City, Sea Isle City, and Strathmere beachfill

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District awarded a contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oak Brook, Illinois for $32.5 million to complete periodic nourishment of two projects in Cape May County, N.J.  The contract calls for dredging more than 2.4 million cubic yards of sand and placing on the beaches in Ocean City, Strathmere, and Sea Isle City.   

The sand will be pumped onto the beach at the following locations:

• 800,000 cubic yards of sand in north Ocean City from Seaview Rd to 13th St
• 455,000 cubic yards of sand in south Ocean City from 49th-59th Streets
• 410,000 cubic yards of sand in Strathmere from Corsons Inlet to Prescott Rd
• 250,000 cubic yards of sand in north Sea Isle City from southern end of Whale Beach to 52nd St
• 510,000 cubic yards of sand in south Sea Isle City from 68th St to Townsends Inlet

The sand is then graded into an engineered template, which is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events.

Most of the work involves widening the beach; however in some areas, dunes, beach access points, and sand fencing will be repaired. There are also contract options to place additional sand and these options could be exercised depending on surveys and the condition of the beaches. The cost of the base contract and all of the contract options is $41.3 million.

The contract includes conducting periodic nourishment of two separate Coastal Storm Risk Management projects:

• The Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach project extends from Surf Road to 34th Street in Ocean City. It includes an elevated berm and was first constructed in 1992. The project has been periodically nourished over the years resulting in a wider beach. Periodic nourishment is cost-shared 65 percent federal and 35 percent non-federal.
• The Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Townsends Inlet project extends from 34th Street in Ocean City to Townsends Inlet and includes southern Ocean City, Strathmere in Upper Township, and Sea Isle City. Initial construction of the project was completed in 2016. 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. Periodic nourishment is cost-shared 50 percent federal and 50 percent non-federal.

Both projects are joint efforts of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the municipalities. Work is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events. In the next several weeks, the Army Corps will coordinate with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company on the dredging and construction schedule.