The island-wide beach replenishment project is about ready to get underway in Brick Township.
Crews with Weeks Marine have begun setting up pipelines and sand-moving equipment along the township’s ocean beach, preparing for a replenishment and dune-building project to begin in the coming weeks. The recent nor’easter set the project back slightly.
“The boats showed up and started setting up the piping, but they had to go back to port because the waves were too high,” said Mayor John Ducey. “Now they’re back and they should start working by the end of January.”
The replenishment project will include a beach at least 200-feet wide, with a 22 foot-high vegetated dune that will protect the integrity of the barrier island during storms. The project also includes new dune crossings that do not cut through the dune line. The equipment for the project is set up at Brick Beach III.
The dredges RN Weeks and BE Lindholm will be used in the Brick project, which is expected to last through the winter. The dredge Magdalen is set to begin beach replenishment in the Normandy Beach section in February.
During the project, sand will be pumped through a network of pipes anchored in the ocean, back to shore. Front loaders and other Earth-moving equipment will spread the sand and form the dunes.