Stone Harbor Beach Fill Project Makes Progress (USA)

Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters, Councilmembers Barry Mastrangelo and Al Carusi, Administrator Jill Gougher and other Borough officials attended the Stone Harbor Beach Fill Progress meeting on Wednesday, May 22nd at the Stone Harbor Fire Department.

Also in attendance were representatives from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and Norfolk Dredging, the contractor doing the beach fill project in Stone Harbor.

To date, the Stone Harbor beach fill project has resulted in 3,200 linear feet of new beach starting at the south end of the community, working north. Approximately 120,000 cubic yards of sand has been placed on the beach. The beach fill project will result in a completely new beachfront extending north to the border with Avalon and nearly 700,000 cubic yards of sand being placed on the beach. Crews will work 24 hours a day and will only stop operations due to unsafe weather conditions or mechanical failure.

As of Wednesday, May 22nd the beach fill project has reached the area of 113th Street. It is likely that the beach fill project will continue to proceed north towards the 110th Street beach over the Memorial Day weekend. An interruption in the fill operation is possible late Wednesday night into Thursday morning due to storms that are forecast in our region. The dredge “Charleston” will not move and will stay in Hereford Inlet during any thunderstorm conditions.

As the beach fill project continues to move north, 1,000 feet of beach will be closed in the immediate work area for safety reasons; beaches are smoothed and graded to the south as the beach fill project continues to move north. All beaches will be open in Stone Harbor for the duration of this project except in the immediate work area; beach goers will be asked to access the beach at the next available beach path, for safety reasons. As the project moves north the pipe remains on the beach but ramps will be built over the pipe for the public to have access to the brand new beaches.

Per contract, Norfolk Dredging will suspend beach fill operations in Stone Harbor shortly after June 1st, possibly between the dates of June 3rd-6th and move to the North Wildwood beachfront for a smaller beach fill operation. It is anticipated that Norfolk Dredging will resume the Stone Harbor project where it left off before the end of June and will continue pumping sand until the project is completed. Progress meetings will continue weekly in Stone Harbor even during the North Wildwood project in order to provide Stone Harbor with updates and the latest information.

This beach fill project will result in a brand new, engineered beach for the entire Stone Harbor beachfront and comes with no participation of local tax dollars. It is designed to restore the Stone Harbor beachfront to the federal design template that existed before hurricanes Irene and Sandy.

[mappress]

Press Release, May 23, 2013