Dear Friends,
The effort to rebuild beaches at the north end of Ocean City is making great progress. As of today, crews had reached 10th Street, and it’s likely they will wrap up sand-pumping operations by the end of next week. When the work is done, we will have 1.3 million cubic yards of new sand on the beaches between Seaspray Road and 12th Street and additional stockpiles to rebuild dunes at Fifth Street and other areas. I want to thank our partners in the federal Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Protection for helping to complete this important work.
The boardwalk reconstruction project between 10th Street and 12th Street is also going well. The entrance at 10th Street entrance reopened today. New sections of decking stretch halfway down the block toward 11th Street, and that portion of the boardwalk could open next week. Crews will now move to 12th Street and work back toward 11th Street.
On the bay side, dredging to deepen waterways at Carnival Bayou and portions of Sunny Harbor and South Harbor is now complete. Owners can make private arrangements with an approved contractor to dredge boat slips in these areas. (Call Joe Stewart of Trident Marine Piling at 609-703-7466.)
All lanes of the 34th Street Bridge will be closed from 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 21, through 5 a.m. Friday, Dec. 22. The closing has been approve as part of Cape May County’s two-year project to redeck the bridge. Please seek alternative routes during the bridge closing. The single-lane pattern will resume on Friday morning.
I’d like to remind you all that 2018 seasonal beach tags (store.ocnj.us) and 2017-18 First Night buttons (firstnightocnj.com ) are on sale online and at locations throughout Ocean City. Both would make great stocking stuffers or last-minute gifts.
There are still three more chances to catch Ocean City Theatre Company’s musical version of the Dickens story “A Christmas Carol.” Shows are at 7:30 p.m. tonight, then 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Dec. 16) at the Ocean City Music Pier. There are plenty of tickets still available, and the box office will be open before each of the shows.
Jay A. Gillian
Mayor
