Monmouth County to Continue Shark River Dredging

Monmouth County Freeholders Thomas A. Arnone and Serena DiMaso became, respectively, Freeholder Director and Deputy Director at the Board’s 2016 organization meeting held earlier in January at the Biotechnology High School.

Following a business meeting that appointed the freeholder and citizen members to more than a dozen county boards and commissions, each of the freeholders delivered remarks that acknowledged 2015 accomplishments and offered a look at what is ahead for Monmouth County in 2016.

Among the 2015 county accomplishments listed by the freeholders were the coastal waterway improvements with dredging at the Shark River and Wreck Pond.

“Dredging of the Shark River will continue in 2016,” said Director Arnone. “It took 17 years of hard work and negotiations, but we are on our way to returning this beautiful waterway into a viable recreation and economic resource. Thank you to our partners at the NJDOT and NJ DEP, Sen. Jen Beck and mayors from the surrounding towns.”

“The Shark River project proves persistence pays off and that we can affect change and get things done in Monmouth County,” added Arnone.

All of the freeholders thanked county staff and administration for their hard work during the past year. They also expressed their thanks to freeholder Gary J. Rich, Sr. for his leadership as director of the 2015 Freeholder Board.

“I am truly grateful for the talented individuals who work for Monmouth County and know that my year as Director would not have been as successful without all of you,” said Rich. “I look forward to achieving great things in 2016 and bringing some of the projects that we began in 2015 to fruition, including assisting with dredging and seeing construction of a secondary outfall pipe at Wreck Pond to mitigate local flooding—an issue the county has been involved in for well over a decade.”

Set to be completed in 2016 are the completion of the new West Front Street Bridge between Middletown and Red Bank; advancement of the Shark River dredging project; continuing the facade improvement program and completion of the County’s Master Plan.

The Shark River dredging project calls for removing over 100,000 cubic yards of sediment comprised of sand and silt.

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