Seaside Park ‘Cliff’ at Bayfront Will Be Repaired (Permanently)

Undermined land at tthe 14th Street Pier, Seaside Park, N.J., Feb. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

A nagging issue for several years near the 14th Avenue pier along Barnegat Bay in Seaside Park will be tackled under a new plan being drawn up by an engineering firm.

The borough council recently voted to award a contract to CME Associates, an engineering firm, to develop plans that will shore up the area just south of the 14th Avenue fishing pier, which has degraded significantly in recent years and is threatening the stability of property in both the borough and on its border with Berkeley Township. Erosion has caused a small “cliff” to form, with some tree roots destabilized near the small dock that many use as a kayak launch.

“This is something where we’ve been using a stopgap, or interim solutions, and I know our guys were working on it this week,” said Mayor John Peterson. “It’s something that has been needed for some time, and it will have an engineer’s hand in it with the gabions and other stabilization work.”

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It is expected that borough crews will perform the actual construction work, which will likely include the installation of a Gabion-style retaining wall. Gabion is a company that manufactures a number of wall elements, and has used its “erosion basket” system to success in controlling flooding and shoreline erosion in other parts of the country. The fix should end the issue of chronic erosion in the area after years of patchwork, officials said.

“It needs to be fixed, there are no ifs about it,” said Councilman Joseph Connor.

Undermined land at tthe 14th Street Pier, Seaside Park, N.J., Feb. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Undermined land at tthe 14th Street Pier, Seaside Park, N.J., Feb. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Undermined land at tthe 14th Street Pier, Seaside Park, N.J., Feb. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The council previously appointed CME as its engineer to design the plans for the shoreline repairs, but the project never came to fruition. The contract awarded earlier this month calls for the firm to draw up the plans for no more than $16,000. A previous solution led officials to balk at the price as proposed by a construction company.

“We had gotten, from Earle [Asphalt], a cost of around $70,000 earlier this year and we were taken back by that cost, so now we’re looking to see if there are any better options,” said Councilman William Kraft.

The new specifications developed by CME are aimed at solidifying a workable – and affordable – plan to permanently repair the shoreline.