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Just two weeks after work crews started installing sections of decking on the 500 block of the Ocean City Boardwalk, work appears to be nearly complete.
Working offsite, city workers had used an existing stock of southern yellow pine to construct 12-by-42-foot sections of boardwalk. The sections were trucked in, and the advance work allowed contractors to proceed more quickly.
Work appears well ahead of schedule to meet a Palm Sunday (April 13, 2014) deadline for completion. A stubborn section of concrete substructure in line with the Fifth Street jetty is the only remaining obstacle.
'When the 500 block is reopened in early spring, walkers, runners and bikers will notice a more sturdy deck than the older sections of the boardwalk due to the materials used and the improved design," Mayor Jay Gillian said in a
recent update posted to the city website.
For runners, walkers and bicyclists accustomed to the uninterrupted five-mile round trip on the boards, the progress is good news. The entire block (decking and substructure) was demolished in the fall, forcing an off-Boardwalk detour between Sixth Street and Brighton Place.
The $1.1 million project is the first phase of what will likely be a seven-year project to completely replace the Ocean City Boardwalk between Fifth and 12th streets.
City Council voted in June to award a contract to Fred M. Schiavone Construction of Malaga for the phase between Fifth and Sixth streets. The contractor is the same one who completed work on the new Welcome Center on the Route 52 causeway.
