Crews are working their way down the beach in Ocean City planting dune grass on beaches wiped out by Superstorm Sandy.
By the time they're done (by April 1), they will have placed as many as 400,000 plants of Cape American beach grass in an area from the north end of the island to 18th Street and between 34th and 59th streets.
Turfscapes LLC of Williamstown also installed dune fence (and some split-rail fence) in the same areas. City Council awarded a contract of up to $407,500 in May 2013.
The project marks the final stage in rebuilding dunes flattened by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. An Army Corps of Engineers beach rebuilding project (that had been previously scheduled) was completed in June 2013.
For the south end of Ocean City, the fencing and dune grass will help secure a temporary sand berm until another approved Army Corps project can start. That work is tentatively scheduled to start after the summer.
"The best time to plant beach grass is from October 1 to March 30 in the Mid-Atlantic region," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
