By Donald Wittkowski
Kris Luckenbach was surprised by how far his bare feet sank into the powdery sand that now covers Ocean City’s beaches like a thick, white blanket.
“I feel like I’m sinking in. I guess it’s gotten a lot softer,” he said.
Luckenbach, of Egg Harbor Township, discovered Ocean City’s deeper and wider shoreline when he stepped out on the beach at Fifth Street on Wednesday to shoot some video.
He remembered that the last time he was on the beaches, they were badly eroded – right down to the hard-packed sand normally found on the bottom layer.
But now the beaches in the north end of town have been replenished with 1.3 million cubic yards of new sand stretching from Seaspray Road to 12th Street. In addition, two huge mounds of sand have been stockpiled along the beachfront to rebuild the depleted dunes near Fifth Street and 10th Street.
Some of the north end beaches got hammered by the powerful coastal storm Jonas in January 2016. In addition to carving sharp, cliff-like drop-offs in the dunes, the storm also washed away the top layer of powdery sand that provides a comfortable cushion for beachgoers to lie on.
The beach replenishment project will help tourist-dependent Ocean City keep its coastline in tip-top shape so it may continue attracting summer vacationers to town.
“Having replenished beaches is certainly an added benefit to have for our guests,” city spokesman Doug Bergen said.
In 2016, Ocean City scored a public relations coup by being crowned the “Best Beach in America” in an online nationwide poll conducted by Coastal Living Magazine. Ocean City has also been selected as New Jersey’s “best beach” for four years in a row.
Besides the aesthetic value of having wide, powdery beaches, the city will also benefit from the replenishment project by having a bigger barrier of sand and dunes to protect homes, businesses, the Boardwalk and roads from the ocean’s storm surge.
“The whole project is designed to protect property,” Bergen said.
Bergen also noted that the north end now has an uninterrupted line of dunes to complement the replenished beaches. Maintenance of those dunes will be the city’s responsibility.
Ocean City teamed up with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the $13.4 million beach replenishment project. The federal government will pay for 65 percent of the cost.
The state picks up the remaining 35 percent. However, Ocean City will pay 25 percent of the state’s share, or 8.75 percent of the project’s total cost, according to the city’s website. That works out to about $1.2 million for the city’s portion.
The north end beaches were last replenished in 2015. At that time, the Army Corps of Engineers pumped 1 million cubic yards of new sand between the northernmost jetty at Seaspray Road and 12th Street at a cost of $12.3 million. Ocean City’s share of that project was about $1.1 million.
The city is now on a regular three-year cycle for beach replenishment projects funded by the Army Corps of Engineers. Although the next phase of pumping was originally scheduled for 2018, the timetable was accelerated after the city was successful in its talks to get the north end beaches replenished this fall.
“We are grateful for our partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers,” Bergen said.
At the same time the beaches are being restored, the city is giving the Boardwalk a $2.9 million facelift from 10th to 12th streets. This is the final phase of the Boardwalk’s multiyear restoration between Fifth and 12th streets, ensuring that the famous attraction continues to be a centerpiece of the tourism industry. The Boardwalk work is scheduled to be finished by late March.
When the beach replenishment project started in October, the Army Corps of Engineers thought it would take until February to complete the work. However, relatively mild weather throughout the fall allowed the project to wrap up early.
“Fortunately, we had very calm waters out in the ocean,” Bergen said of the absence of strong coastal storms while the project was being done.
The federal contractor for the project, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. of Oak Brook, Illinois, used a 305-foot dredge, anchored about a mile offshore, to pump fresh sand through pipes from the bottom of Great Egg Harbor Inlet onto the beaches at the island’s northern tip. Great Lakes finished pumping the last bit of sand this past weekend.
Ocean City resident Erica Reis, who was playing fetch Wednesday with her 2-year-old Rottweiler, Rayna, marveled at how wide the replenished beaches have become.
“I feel like I’m walking a mile to get to the water now,” she said.
Reis recalled that over the summer, the beaches were so badly depleted of sand that children had to play Whiffle Ball near the Boardwalk and some sunbathers were forced to sit on the jetty.
“There was no room on the beach then,” she said.
But while gazing at the vast, new swath of sand, Reis was certain there would be no more overcrowding problems on the beaches now.
“It’s huge,” she said. “There is really going to be so much room.”
