Downbeach, AC Receive Sand from Dredging Project
By Bill Barlow
Crews are putting the finishing touches on a multimillion-dollar federal project that added about two million cubic yards of sand to beaches on Absecon Island, from the Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Absecon Inlet.
“It’s mostly finished. The sand has been pumped in. They’re grading it all out,” said Lance Landgraf, Ventnor’s commissioner of public works and construction, in a Jan. 11 interview. “What they’re finishing up now is the repairs to the walkovers.”
That includes a concrete ramp at Suffolk Avenue, which had been badly damaged by heavy equipment in a previous project.
“They agreed that the damage was from their trucks and they’re going to repair it,” Landgraf said.
He said Ventnor has a strong working relationship with the Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency leading the federal efforts on beach replenishment.
“We don’t get everything we want, but they’ve been very good with us, as has the DEP,” he said.
That’s in sharp contrast to neighboring Margate, which went to court to try to block construction of a line of protective dunes in the community. There, too, the latest project is winding down.
“They’re finishing up right now, with landscaping and some rails on the areas where they pumped sand,” said Margate Mayor Michael Becker. The community did not succeed in blocking the dune project, which remains a sore point for some residents and property owners. It’s resolved now, though.
“Obviously, we had our different opinions on who was paying for the project. It’s done. It’s over with and we moved on,” he said. But he added that the community does not kick in for beach projects as do other towns.
“Not one penny. We went to court. Part of the settlement was that we never had to participate in beach projects. We will hold them to that,” he said.
Does that create tension with the other towns, especially considering the fact that Ventnor is set to pay about $450,000 toward their new beach?
“I don’t want to call it tension. They have their opinion on it and we have ours,” Landgraf said.
Typically, the federal government pays the largest share of the cost for beach projects, with the remainder divided between the state and municipalities. Most local officials see the beach projects as a bargain.
Ventnor welcomes the dunes, and according to Landgraf, owners were worried before the start of a previous beach project that the dune near the border with Margate had been stripped away by erosion.
The Army Corps has had several beach projects in Atlantic City and Ventnor since the initial project in 2004, which added close to five million cubic yards of sand to beaches. Margate and Longport’s beaches were built in 2018. The most recent project was completed under a $23.8 million contract with Great Lakes Dredging and Dock company of Illinois, which is a major player in beach replenishment. With all of the options, the total contract was worth more than $30 million, according to the Army Corps, including dune walkovers, sand fencing and planting dune grass.
Two dredges worked to add sand to the barrier island, with the dredge “Texas” adding sand to Atlantic City and the dredge “Liberty Island” building the beaches starting in Ventnor in October and moving on to Margate and Longport after that.
Dredging work is still underway in Atlantic City, according to Army Corps spokesman Steve Rochette, who said on Jan. 11 that the work is now close to Garden Pier.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small did not respond to a request for comment. On the other end of the island, Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo said the project has made a visible difference on the beaches.
“This has certainly lengthened and expanded our beach property. That’s not even debatable,” Russo said. “The project appears to be almost done here.”
He said dune grass has been added along much of the town, with additional plants in the area from 11th Avenue to 16th Avenue, which he said has been designated as a conservation area.
He added that the borough plans to add additional blue mats to the dune crossovers, which he said are designed to improve access for those using wheelchairs or with other mobility challenges, but have proven very popular among all residents and visitors.
