Ocean City will head into 2016 with the healthiest beaches in recent memory.
A $9 million Army Corps of Engineers project to pump almost a million cubic yards of new sand onto the the north end of Ocean City is expected to be complete on Monday (Dec. 21). Another Army Corps project was completed in September and added about 1.5 million cubic yards to beaches at the south end.
“By the New Year, Ocean City will enjoy wide beaches and a healthy uninterrupted dune system from tip to tip,” Mayor Jay Gillian said in his weekly update on Friday.
As of Sunday afternoon, work on the project was at 11th Street with one block to go.
The project area was originally expected to cover the area from the first jetty at Seaspray Road to 14th Street. But it was announced after a project meeting on Thursday that the project would end at 12th Street with some additional work to make a transition to 13th Street.
After work is complete, crews will begin to remove equipment from the beach.
The project started on Nov. 3 and covered 2.4 miles at the north end of Ocean City.
The federal government is paying the majority of the project costs with Ocean City responsible for only 8.75 percent.
