Seaside Park Beach Replenishment to Resume in 10 Days; New Boat on the Way to Mantoloking

Beach replenishment in Seaside Park, N.J., Aug. 2018. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

After weeks of absence, dredge boats will be returning to Seaside Park to continue beachfill and dune-building operations, officials said Tuesday.

An accident in which a dredge pipe burst Sept. 3 and other maintenance issues, as well as the diversion of dredge boats to projects in New York, have hampered the schedule of the project in Seaside Park. Like other towns, Seaside Park will be receiving new dunes, crossovers and an expansion of its beach berm by about 200 feet, however since the borough’s existing dunes are among the largest on the island, they will be expanded in certain areas rather than replaced as a whole.

Stephen Rochette, spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia district, said a meeting was conducted Tuesday with Weeks Marine, the contractor in charge of the project, and schedules have been updated. The pipeline cutterhead dredge C.R. McCaskill is expected to return to Seaside Park in about 10 days to resume beachfill operations, he said.

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Additionally, the hopper dredge BE Lindholm is expected to rejoin the RN Weeks in Mantoloking and resume work Thursday Nov. 22.

“The schedule has been delayed due to recent weather, but we’re working with Weeks Marine Inc. to move the schedule along as much as possible,” said Rochette. “We should have an updated schedule posted online later this week.”

As it currently stands, four stages of the island-wide beach replenishment project are underway. The northern portion of Mantoloking is currently receiving pumped-in sand, the Normandy Beach section of Toms River is currently receiving sand and replenishment activities are underway in Seaside Heights at Hiering Avenue. The fourth portion, Seaside Park, will resume in the aforementioned 10 days.