The pipeline running down the beach from 55th Street to 52nd Street in Ocean City, NJ will be removed during a 6 to 8 week break in beach replenishment operations in Ocean City, NJ while a dredge is repaired.
A day after the Army Corps of Engineers announced that beach replenishment at the south end of Ocean City, NJ will be at standstill for six to eight weeks while a dredge is repaired, it's becoming a little more clear what the beach will look like until dredging operations resume. (
Read more: South End Beach Project Stalled for 6 to 8 Weeks).
Heavy equipment will be removed from the beach and sections of pipeline piled at the back of the beach.
A construction meeting on Thursday that included representatives of the Army Corps, the contractor for the job (Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company), the state Department of Environmental Protection and City of Ocean City officials revealed the following:
- The pipeline that runs down the beach from 55th Street to 52nd Street will be removed, according to Mayor's Assistant Mike Dattilo, who attended the meeting.
- The pipeline that runs through the surf at 55th Street from an area offshore will remain.
- Heavy equipment will be removed from the beach at 52nd Street, where it's been temporarily parked since the project came to a stop on Saturday, May 30.
- Some sections of pipe will be moved and stored at the back of one of the wide rebuilt beaches. It will be cordoned off to prevent anybody from climbing on it.
- All beaches will be open while the dredge is repaired.
Richard Pearsall, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said the meeting produced no change in construction schedule announced Wednesday.
"It will be six weeks at least before the dredge Liberty Island returns to Ocean City," Pearsall said. "Great Lakes doesn't have another dredge available that's capable of a job of that magnitude."
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Ocean City Beach Patrol Operations Director Tom Mullineaux said the patrol's goal is to provide the same protection it always has once the beaches are fully staffed in the next couple weeks.
He said the OCBP may have to move protected beaches a half block down at places like 55th Street, where the offshore pipeline lands.
"We'll play it by ear," Mullineaux said. "Whatever we do, we'll do it on the side of safety."
Protected beaches in the remaining project area are traditionally at 48th, 50th, 53rd, 55th, 58th and south of 59th streets. Beaches on the margins of the rebuilt area between 52nd Street and 55th Street could see greater potential for shifting sandbars and dangerous currents.
Pebbles and shells mix with sand on the rebuilt beach at 52nd Street on Thursday, June 4.
As it was for some blocks in the 40s, the sand quality at the most recently completed area near and around 52nd Street is not the same as the native sand at the top of the beach. It is filled with pebbles and shells.
"We monitor it constantly and periodically send samples for analysis to make sure it matches grain size called for," Pearsall said. "We have moved around in the borrow area and will do so again if necessary."
Dattilo said the city has had some success in filtering stone from sand on the beaches in the 40s with its own beach raking equipment. He said the city will continue the same process on all beaches.
A mound of sand left on the beach at 37th Street has been set aside to fill a gap in the dune left open to accommodate vehicle access to the beach while the project is underway, according to Pearsall.
The pile is being knocked down to about half its height while the contractor is away for six weeks, he said.
Heavy equipment will be removed from the beach and sections of pipeline piled at the back of the beach.
A construction meeting on Thursday that included representatives of the Army Corps, the contractor for the job (Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company), the state Department of Environmental Protection and City of Ocean City officials revealed the following:
Pebbles and shells mix with sand on the rebuilt beach at 52nd Street on Thursday, June 4.
As it was for some blocks in the 40s, the sand quality at the most recently completed area near and around 52nd Street is not the same as the native sand at the top of the beach. It is filled with pebbles and shells.
"We monitor it constantly and periodically send samples for analysis to make sure it matches grain size called for," Pearsall said. "We have moved around in the borrow area and will do so again if necessary."
Dattilo said the city has had some success in filtering stone from sand on the beaches in the 40s with its own beach raking equipment. He said the city will continue the same process on all beaches.
A mound of sand left on the beach at 37th Street has been set aside to fill a gap in the dune left open to accommodate vehicle access to the beach while the project is underway, according to Pearsall.
The pile is being knocked down to about half its height while the contractor is away for six weeks, he said.
