The Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet Coastal Storm Risk Management Project was authorized by Congress in 1999. The project includes the construction of a dune and berm system with a 3-year nourishment cycle (pending available funding) and 2.2 miles of seawall along the Townsends Inlet frontage of Avalon and the Hereford Inlet frontage of North Wildwood. The design calls for a 150 foot berm (or beach) backed by a dune constructed to elevation +14.75 (North American Vertical Datum of 1988). The beachfill portion of the project was initially constructed in 2002. The Townsends Inlet seawall was completed in 2006. The Hereford Inlet seawall was constructed in 2 phases with the Phase 1 completed in 2007 and Phase 2 completed in 2010. The dune and beachfill project was renourished/repaired in 2011, 2013, 2017, and 2019. The Hereford Seawall was repaired in 2014 and 2020-2021.

The project is designed to reduce the risk of damages to infrastructure from coastal storm events.

The dune and beachfill portion of the Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet project was initially constructed in 2002 and has been subsequently nourished and repaired. Periodic nourishment of the dune and beachfill project began April 17, 2023 and was completed on May 11 in Avalon. Sand placement was completed in Stone Harbor on July 17, 2023. 

The Townsends Inlet seawall portion of the project was completed in 2006. The Hereford Inlet seawall was constructed in 2 phases with the Phase 1 completed in 2007 and Phase 2 completed in 2010. Repair work along the Hereford Inlet (Anglesea) seawall began in 2020 and finished in 2021.

The project is designed to reduce the risk of damages to infrastructure from coastal storm events.

UPDATED: 7/19/2023

STATUS: Dredging and beachfill operations completed

In cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the City of North Wildwood, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) awarded a contract to Agate Construction to repair damage along sections of the Hereford Inlet Seawall. Work was completed in 2021. 

Erosion along the underwater edge of the wall caused portions of the wall to collapse. To fix the problem, USACE/Agate installed concrete block mattresses that extend into the channel along the bottom of the inlet. The mattresses were then covered with more than 20,000 ton of stone. The mattresses are designed to fold into areas of erosion and prevent the erosion from migrating towards the wall. Continued erosion along the seawall between when USACE designed the seawall repairs and actual construction resulted in additional failure along the seawall. To address this issue, USACE expanded the contract with Agate, within the original scope of work, to add an additional 21,000 square feet of Articulated Concrete Block (ACB) mattresses, 5,000 tons of stone fill and 400 tons of 2-ton cap stone.

The seawall was originally constructed in 2009 and provides coastal flood risk management for homes along the Hereford Inlet.