The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this morning announced it has awarded the fourth and final contract to replenish Sandy-ravaged beaches from Sea Bright to the Manasquan Inlet in Monmouth County, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said Friday.
For the beaches between Asbury Park and Avon-by-the-Sea, this phase of the “Sea Bright to Manasquan Beach Erosion Control Project” was awarded to the Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company LLC, of Oak Brook, Ill., in the amount of $18,332,500. It was the lower of two bids. The second was $22.9 million from Manson Construction Co. of Seattle. The work will be fully funded by the federal government.
“This project will help restore and protect our beaches with suitably engineered dunes, which will have the added benefit to better protect homes, businesses and public property,” said Smith, a long-time advocate of beach replenishment and protection projects. “The beaches are also the lifeblood of the local economy, and the main reason why tourists visit the shore. This project is an important part of the overall recovery.”
The Corps said today it expects to issue a notice to proceed (NTP) in about a week, after the winning bidder submits required information. The construction duration is estimated to be 210 days, and is expected to be underway this fall and completed in the spring. Sand will be dredged by the contractor from an offshore borrow area, located about four miles offshore of Sea Bright. The work consists of a 100 foot wide beach berm at an elevation of 12 feet.
Over one million cubic yards of sand will be moved along a nine-mile stretch under the contract, the fourth and final contract to restore the Sea Bright to Manasquan Beach Erosion Control Project to its former state as it was when completed in 2001. The Corps plan calls for maintenance work about every six years. Click here for a description of the contract awarded today.
Due to Superstorm Sandy the beaches in the project area lost roughly 5 million cubic yards of sand. The Corps of Engineers is repairing and restoring the project through the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Act (Public Law84-99) and the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (the Sandy Relief Bill, or Public Law 113-2). The work encompasses both replacing the sand lost during the storm as well as restoring the project to its original design profile. About eight million cubic yards will be moved when the restoration is complete.
The overall Sea Bright to Manasquan Project covers 21 miles of the New Jersey shoreline and is the largest beach nourishment project ever undertaken by the Corps of Engineers. In terms of sheer volume it is the largest beachfill project in the world, according to the Corps.
The densely populated communities along the Jersey Shore, from the Town of Sea Bright to the Manasquan Inlet in Monmouth County, continually experience significant beach erosion. In 1962, the Ash Wednesday Storm caused $56 million in damages (1992 dollars).
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