A dredging ship is gathering sand from the ocean floor off Ocean City on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 13), and is preparing to pump it onto south end beaches.
The Liberty Island returned today from what turned out to be an 11-week repair job in Norfolk, Va., and work on a massive beach replenishment project has resumed.
Work on a federal Army Corps of Engineers project to rebuild eroded beaches between 37th and 59th streets in Ocean City began April 16 and was expected to be complete by mid-July. But the dredge was under repair for about 75 days after working for only 44 days.
The restart of the project means small sections of beach at the south end will be closed as the work progresses.
Crews had fenced off an area around 51st Street Beach, where the project left off, as of Thursday afternoon. But Ocean City Mayor’s Assistant Mike Dattilo said the work actually could begin with touching up areas of beach between 54th and 52nd streets that had already been completed.
He said the area behind (toward the streets) a pipeline running down the beach likely will be open, and only small areas to the ocean side will be closed at any one time over the weekend.
(Check back with OCNJ Daily for updates on the progress and location of work.)
The Liberty Island is a hopper dredge, a ship that pumps sand into its hold from an underwater borrow area, then travels closer to Ocean City to hook up with a pipeline that feeds the new sand onto the beach. The ship is owned and operated by an outside contractor, the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company of Oak Brook, Ill.
The engine on the Liberty Island died on May 30 and the ship had been in port for seven weeks as it was replaced. It returned to Ocean City on July 20 for what was expected to be the restart of work. But the dredge broke again on its first test pump.
The delays have kept all Ocean City beaches open through the heart of the summer vacation season, but they’re also pushing the restart of work into the heart of hurricane season.
The project is now expected to be complete at the end of September.
