CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: NJ-2
APPROPRIATION / PHASE: Construction, General
BUSINESS PROGRAM: Flood and Coastal Storm Damage Reduction
AUTHORITY: Section 1001 (30) of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007
LOCATION: The project area extends approximately 16 miles from Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Townsends Inlet, and includes the municipalities of Ocean City, Upper Township, and Sea Isle City. An existing Federal beachfill extends along the northern and central portions of Ocean City, from Seaview Road to 34th Street.
DESCRIPTION: The study investigated flood and coastal storm damage effects with a view toward reducing impacts from coastal erosion and storms. The recommended plan calls for construction of a beach fill with a berm and dune along the study area oceanfront utilizing sand from an offshore borrow source and periodic nourishment for a period of 50 years.
PROJECT GOALS: The purpose of this project investigated hurricane and coastal storm damage effects with a view toward reducing impacts from coastal erosion and storms.
STATUS: Planning, Engineering and Design was completed in 2005. Chief of Engineer’s Report was signed on 24 October 2006. The project was authorized in the 2007 Water Resources Development Act. The Record of Decision was signed on 18 October 2011.
Between October 27 & 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy significantly damaged the New Jersey coast from Sandy Hook to Cape May and up the Delaware Bay. In response, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President on January 29, 2013 as Public Law 113-2 (Act). The legislation provides supplemental appropriations to address damages caused by Hurricane Sandy and to reduce future flood risk in ways that will support the long-term sustainability of the coastal ecosystem and communities, and reduce the economic costs and risks associated with large-scale flood and storm events.
On November 10, 2014, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $57.6-million contract to the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company to complete the coastal storm damage reduction project from the southern end of Ocean City to Strathmere and Sea Isle. The project, which entails the construction of a dune and a berm, or beach, in front of each community, is a joint effort of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The initial construction project was completed in the spring of 2016.
Work in the southern end of Ocean City, from 34th Street to Corson’s Inlet state Park, involved the construction of a dune approximately 13 feet above sea level, 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 dune will be about 15 feet high and the berm 50 feet wide.
The project was authorized in 2007 but did not receive funding until 2013 when Congress enacted the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-2, or often referred to as the Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill). The project is eligible for periodic nourishment (on a 5-year cycle) pending adequate funding. Periodic nourishment is scheduled for the fall and winter of 2019-2020.
SPONSOR: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
DATE OF PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT: 23 June 2014
TARGET COMPLETION DATE: 2064
PROJECT MANAGER: Dwight Pakan