UPDATE: Beach Fill Concludes – All Avalon Beaches Open for Holiday Weekend

UPDATE:
AVALON – A very significant beach fill project in the Borough of Avalon is expected to conclude on Tuesday evening, May 24th. Borough officials learned during a project meeting on Tuesday that the beach nourishment effort in the community is finishing on schedule and all beaches in Avalon will be open for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Officials with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, and the Borough attended a project status meeting on Tuesday. Great Lakes is the company hired to conduct the beach fill effort; officials stated that sand dredging will conclude on Tuesday evening and the process of demobilizing from the Avalon beachfront will begin no later than Wednesday morning. The project will move to Stone Harbor where a beach nourishment effort could begin as early as Thursday, May 26th.
The beach project in Avalon results in 450,000 cubic yards of new sand being placed on the Avalon beachfront from 8th Street south to 30th Street. The project began on April 30th and experienced a minor delay related to a persistent storm off the East Coast and a mechanical issue with the dredge “Illinois”. Army Corps officials announced that about 25,000 cubic yards of the new sand placed on the beach was washed out due to the coastal storm. However, Great Lakes officials confirmed that the volume of sand was pumped back onto the beach following the storm event.
It will take Great Lakes several days to demobilize all of the pipe and heavy equipment off the Avalon beachfront. The demobilization will stop in the interest of public safety on Friday afternoon, May 27th in advance of the Memorial Day weekend. Even though some pipe and smaller equipment may remain in Avalon, all beaches will be open to the public. Beach access ramps at both 21st Street and 22nd Street will remain closed during the weekend since pipe and other equipment will likely be stored near the access ramps. However, those beaches are expected to remain open to the public during the holiday weekend. Beach goers will simply have to walk one block north or south to access the beach.
Officials from the Borough of Avalon, Great Lakes, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will participate in a safety walk-through of the Borough’s beachfront on Friday morning, May 27th in advance of the holiday weekend. Once the beach fill ends in Avalon this week the entire operation moves to Stone Harbor for a beach project in that community.
The Borough of Avalon has partnered with federal and state agencies to place approximately 450,000 cubic yards of sand on the beaches between 8th Street and 30th Street. The project began on April 30th at the 8th Street beach and continues to move south, concluding at the 30th Street beach. This project also includes work on Avalon’s dunes and associated fences and railings.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED:
AVALON – Avalon’s major spring beach fill project advanced south to the 20th Street beach in Avalon on Tuesday afternoon, May 10th. The project continues to place nearly 40,000 cubic yards of sand on the Borough’s beachfront every day. To date, 260,000 cubic yards of sand has been placed on the Avalon beaches by the dredge “Illinois”; this represents more than half of the total sand volume of 450,000 cubic yards.
Avalon officials attended a project status meeting on Tuesday morning. There will likely be two minor weather interruptions in the project during the next seven days. The first interruption will likely be caused by swells from a coastal storm in New England. A front is expected to push over Avalon during the weekend which may result in a second minor work stoppage. However, officials with Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company expect the sand dredging to be completed in about ten days, well in advance of Memorial Day weekend. The entire operation then moves south to Stone Harbor.
Beach access in the immediate work area is restricted during this beach fill operation. Generally two to three beach blocks in the immediate work area are closed to the public while sand is placed on the beach. Beach blocks continue to reopen to the public as the operation moves south along the Avalon beachfront.
Sand is dredged 24 hours a day, seven days a week from a borrow zone in Townsend’s Inlet. A total of 450,000 cubic yards of sand will be placed on the Avalon beaches from 8th Street south to 30th Street. Some dune work and fences are also part of this effort. When the project concludes in Avalon, it will move south to Stone Harbor for a beach nourishment project in that community during the month of June.
UPDATE: Dredge Arrives, Avalon Beach Fill to Begin April 29-30
AVALON – Avalon’s ambitious effort to nourish the beaches in the north end of the community is expected to begin on Friday or Saturday, April 29th or 30th. The dredge that will conduct the hydraulic beach fill project in Avalon has arrived at Utsch’s Marina in Cape May and is expected to arrive in Avalon on Friday afternoon to begin a major beach fill project that will start at 8th Street and continue south to 30th Street.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers held a meeting on Tuesday morning in Avalon where local and state officials were briefed on the project. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company will conduct the beach fill in Avalon before moving south to conduct a similar effort in Stone Harbor. The dredge “Illinois” will remain in safe port in Cape May until offshore winds and high sea swells diminish; the first window of opportunity to move the dredge north along the coast to Avalon will occur on Friday.
A total of 450,000 cubic yards of sand will be hydraulically pumped from a sand borrow area in Townsend’s Inlet and placed on the Avalon beachfront in advance of the summer tourism season. It will take at least 20 days to conduct the project; that timeline could be extended in the event of any severe weather or mechanical issues that arise. During the process, the entire Avalon beachfront will be open and accessible to the public, except for a couple of blocks in the immediate area where sand is being pumped onto the beachfront. The project will include dunes and fencing, along with an outfall pipe located at 22nd street. The goal of the project is to restore the beachfront to conditions that existed before a November, 2009 coastal storm event.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are partners with Avalon on this project. Avalon partnered with neighboring Stone Harbor on this effort and by doing so will save money on mobilization costs and other expenses.
UPDATE: Weather Delays Beachfill Operations
AVALON – According to Avalon’s Public Information Officer, Scott Wahl, dredging operations have been delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions. As of this morning (Monday, April 25), the dredge was located in Cape May Inlet, waiting for better offshore conditions to bring the dredge up the coast. Based on current forecasts, dredging operations will not likely begin until Thursday, April 28.
UPDATE: Borough successfully extends beach fill project to include Eighth Street to 30th Street
AVALON — Avalon’s 2011 spring beach fill project will begin on Easter Weekend with sand being pumped onto the Borough’s north end beaches starting Saturday evening or Sunday morning, April 23rd or 24th.
The project will now include additional beaches in the north end in the community and extend from approximately 8th Street south to 30th Street and involve in the neighborhood of 500,000 cubic yards of sand.
“Avalon fully took advantage of three options in the contract that will allow us to place additional quantities of sand onto the north end beaches in our community which have eroded over time”, said Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi.
“We received positive news during a project status meeting on Tuesday that will result in the additional beach fill. Avalon will have fully protective and recreational beaches in place for the summer tourism season, and the upcoming storm season”.
The beach fill project begins Easter weekend in Avalon and will extend from Eighth Street south to 30th Street. The Avalon project will take approximately three weeks; then it shifts south to Stone Harbor where that community will pump sand onto its beachfront from 80th Street to 123rd Street.
Approximately 850,000 cubic yards of sand will be pumped onto both beachfronts.
“This is an example of government cooperation at its very best”, said Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters. “The federal, state, and local governments have worked together on this effort to provide a protective and recreational beach for the Seven Mile Island before the summer season”.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have partnered with both communities for this beach nourishment project. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company of Illinois will be using a hydraulic dredge to pump sand onto the local beaches. The overall purpose of the project is to reconstruct the beaches to conditions that existed before the November, 2009 coastal storm that devastated the New Jersey shorefront. Beaches, dunes, and fences will all be addressed during this project.
The Avalon portion of the project is expected to conclude in the middle of May. Then the dredge, pipes and equipment are mobilized to Stone Harbor where the beach work will last until the middle of June. During the project, only a few blocks in the immediate area where the sand is being pumped will be closed to the public; all other beaches will remain open and accessible to the north and the south of the immediate work area.
Avalon’s project begins at 8th Street and moves south to 30th Street. Stone Harbor’s project will begin in the south end at 123rd Street and move north, ending at the 80th Street beach. Sand will be placed on the beaches 24 hours a day and will only be interrupted due to weather conditions or an unexpected mechanical or safety issue.
“Sand on the beach results in tourists in our communities, which provides countless benefits not only to our local towns, but to the state of New Jersey”, Pagliughi said. “I am thrilled that Governor Chris Christie understands that beach projects along our state’s coastline are not an expense, but an investment that pays huge dividends to the entire state with increased ratable, new construction, tourism revenue, and thousands of full time and part time jobs”.
“Research shows that over ten percent of the entire labor force in New Jersey is connected to tourism”, Walters said. “Over $38 million was generated by tourism in New Jersey in 2008, and it’s clear to everyone at the Jersey Shore that these tourism dollars start with healthy, protective beaches in the Garden State”.
Both Avalon and Stone Harbor will provide updates to the public through their media resources. Avalon’s updates will be available on 1630AM radio, the Borough’s Facebook page, and online at www.avalonboro.org. Stone Harbor will provide updates on 1670AM, and online at www.stone-harbor.nj.us. Both communities share the local public access television station ShoreTV Channel 2 for Comcast television customers where updates will also be available.
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company LLC will be conducting the beach fill for Avalon. The dredge “Illinois” was making its way up the eastern seaboard on Tuesday, April 19th and was located off the coast of North Carolina. The “Illinois” is expected in Avalon this weekend and sand will be pumped onto the beaches starting Saturday evening or on Easter Sunday.
Once the operation begins, sand will be pumped 24 hours a day until the project is complete. The only interruptions to the project would be related to bad weather or a mechanical failure.
This beach fill project in Avalon is a partnership with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Originally beaches from 16th Street south to 30th Street were designated to receive 270,000 cubic yards of sand during this project.
The Borough fully executed three options in the contract that will now allow for approximately 200,000 additional cubic yards of sand to be placed on the beachfront north of 16th Street. The beach fill will begin near 8th Street and proceed south to 30th Street until the work is complete.
Without delays, it will take approximately 20 days to complete the Avalon portion of the project. After the work in Avalon is complete, the operation moves to the Stone Harbor beachfront for a beach fill project that will begin in that community during the month of May.
“We fully expected the Townsend’s Inlet borrow area to have enough new sand to complete the entire beach nourishment project”, Pagliughi said. “Dunes and fencing will also be addressed with this project. I am pleased to report that Avalon’s beach fill project will be finished before Memorial Day weekend”.
Equipment, trucks, and pipe used for the beach fill are already in place on the Avalon beachfront in anticipation of this major beach nourishment effort. As the project moves south from block to block, access to the beach in the immediate work area will be prohibited in the interest of safety. Beach access paths will reopen to the north as the project continues to move south.
Frequent updates on this project will be made available on Avalon’s official website, www.avalonboro.org