A project that will replace two portions of the Seaside Heights boardwalk is set to begin on or about Dec. 1, borough officials said this week.
The borough council first sought bids for timber in early September, but ended up rejecting the responses after all came back over-budget. The council tweaked its bid specifications to encourage more competition and ultimately awarded a contract at the Oct. 5 meeting of the borough council. At the time, it was not known when construction would begin.
This week, the borough announced the project would get underway Dec. 1. The work will take about 90 days to complete.
The Seaside Heights boardwalk at Franklin Avenue, ready to undergo maintenance, Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The Grant Avenue access point on the Seaside Heights boardwalk, Aug. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Seaside Heights has set aside $900,000 for the boardwalk replacement project. The scope of the project, after the bid specifications for lumber were tweaked, remains largely the same as originally proposed. The most pressing need for replacement, and the first portion to be tackled, will be the Grant Avenue area of the boardwalk. This will include a replacement of the vehicle access ramp, which carries borough, emergency vehicles and special event traffic on a regular basis all year long, and the surrounding wood.
A southern portion of the project will rebuild the boardwalk between Dupont Avenue (just south of The Beachcomber) to a location between Lincoln and Franklin avenues – one to two blocks north. Franklin Avenue represents another busy portion of the boardwalk, being the location of one of the borough’s performance stages. The final distance of the southern replacement portion will depend on the scope of work to be determined once pre-construction meetings are held and the work gets underway.
A Seaside Heights boardwalk maintenance vehicle, Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
At Grant Avenue, the boardwalk east of the vehicle ramp will be reconstructed in two phases so that pedestrian access is available at all times north-south through the Casino Pier. In the southern portion, pedestrian access north-south will be maintained during the project with potential intermittent disruptions. Emergency vehicle access will be at a backup entry point at Franklin Avenue.
More information is available in our explainer video, published above, or in our previous story on the project.
