New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today announced the award of $8.5 million in state dollars to Sea Bright for a post-Sandy project to construct a portion of new sea wall and repair an adjacent damaged section of sea wall that is vital to the protection of this northern Monmouth County town from future storms.
The project, to be financed through the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Shore Protection Fund, will target a 600-foot area of town from East Surf Street to River Street that sustained severe damage by Superstorm Sandy.
“Repairing and extending this sea wall in Sea Bright is part of a continuing effort we are making to fully restore and protect our entire coastline, part of our statewide effort to be more resilient to future storms and weather events that occur in New Jersey,’’ said Governor Christie. “This work is critical to protecting our coastal communities and to enhancing and safeguarding our beaches, which are vital to the state’s $40 billion tourism economy.’’
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) already has completed a federally financed $345 million coastal restoration project from Sandy Hook to Manasquan, and we are working closely with the Army Corps on a $1 billion series of major coastal restoration and improvement projects for the rest of the state’s 127 miles of coastline to offer enhanced protection from future storms,’’ said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin.
The state-financed $8.5 million Sea Bright sea wall project is designed to protect the borough’s small downtown area. The project will go out to bid later this year, with construction to begin next spring or early summer.
Roughly half of the project will repair the damaged sea wall from East Surf Street to East Church Street, with larger stone for added protection. The section from East Church Street to River Street will require the installation of a newly constructed stone sea wall to bridge the gap between adjacent sea walls where none previously existed, to provide one contiguous shore protection structure.
The DEP is also working with FEMA on additional repair and reconstruction projects along the sea wall in Sea Bright.
After Superstorm Sandy, the State worked closely with the USACE on a massive undertaking to repair and improve our beaches, and to build a comprehensive coastal protection system:
· The USACE’s New York District completed its $345 million post-Superstorm Sandy beach repair and restoration projects along the Monmouth County coastline prior to the Fourth of July kickoff of the summer tourism season. That work returned previously constructed beaches damaged by Sandy, from Sandy Hook to Manasquan, to their original protection design, dating back to their original construction from 1994 to 2001.
· Sand placement operations at all of the previously constructed USACE restoration projects in New Jersey, which covered approximately 45 miles of coastline and also included several projects on Long Beach Island and the southern coast of the state, conducted by USACE’s Philadelphia District, have been completed.
· DEP is working with the USACE to build 11 new coastal and flood protection projects statewide.These projects, which will cost more than $1 billion, will help create an engineered, comprehensive shore protection system along the Atlantic coast, while also bolstering protections on the Delaware Bay coast, Raritan Bay, Sandy Hook Bay and tidal portions of the South River and the Passaic River.
· Five of those major coastal projects are in final design stage, with bidding expected this fall and work to start in the late fall and early winter:
Greet Egg Harbor Inlet to Townsends Inlet (Southern Ocean City, Strathmere, and Sea Isle City)
Brigantine Inlet to Great Egg Harbor Inlet - Absecon Island (Margate and Longport)
Sandy Hook to Barnegat Inlet (Deal, Loch Arbour, Allenhurst, Long Branch)
Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet (Northern Ocean County )
Barnegat Inlet to Little Egg Inlet (Long Beach Island)
For more information on the state’s Sandy recovery efforts, please visit: http://nj.gov/gorr/ andhttp://www.nj.gov/dep/special/hurricane-sandy/
For more information on the Army Corps of Engineers’ project, visit:http://www.nan.usace.army.mil/About/Hurricane_Sandy.aspx
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