Avalon Beachfill Update: Project Likely to Begin Before Easter

AVALON — Avalon’s big spring beach fill project is likely to begin on or before Easter weekend. An updated report on the beach fill project was presented to Avalon Borough Council during the Wednesday, April 13th council meeting.
“This year’s beach fill project is expected to begin during or near the time frame of April 21st through the 23rd”, said Avalon engineer Thomas Thornton of Hatch Mott MacDonald. “Equipment is already in place on the Avalon beachfront. Once the dredge completes its trip from Florida, the beach nourishment project will begin”.
Avalon is scheduled to receive a major beach fill project from the 16th Street beach south to 30th Street. A total of 270,000 cubic yards of sand will be placed on the beaches by the “Illinois”, a dredge owned and operated by Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the Borough of Avalon are partners in this beach restoration project. Sand for the beach fill will be taken from a “borrow zone” in Townsend’s Inlet.
“We fully expect the beach fill to also include some of the beaches north of 16th Street”, said Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi. “Avalon requested a bid form with three extra options in the contract that would allow us to address the north end beaches as well.
I am pleased to report that the Borough and the NJDEP have forwarded the formal request to the Corps to place as much sand as possible in the north end. We expect formal approvals and a design template in the coming days”.
Once the approvals for the extra portion of this project are approved, the beach fill with start in the north end of Avalon and continue south to the 30th Street beach. It will likely take approximately two weeks to finish the work in Avalon, ending on or before Mother’s Day weekend.
The overall goal of this year’s effort is to restore the beachfront to the conditions before the November, 2009 storm; dunes and beach fencing will also be addressed during this project. Much of the equipment and pipes needed for the project are already in place in Avalon.
Avalon has partnered with neighboring Stone Harbor in this project. After Avalon’s work is completed, the dredge and the equipment will move south to perform work on Stone Harbor’s beaches. Much like the 2010 partnership with Sea Isle City, Avalon saves significant funding on mobilization costs associated with this project; that results in more sand being pumped onto the beaches.
On Friday, April 15th federal, state, and local officials welcomed the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works,
Jo-Ellen Darcy. She visited both the 10th Street and 20th Street beaches in Avalon for a first-hand look at the erosion issues along the Seven Mile beachfront.
Updates during Avalon’s beach fill will be updated on the Borough’s website, www.avalonboro.org.