AVALON — Avalon and Stone Harbor officials attended the weekly beach fill project progress meeting in Avalon on Thurs., March 23. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company reports that the dredge “Texas” has placed 230,000 cubic yards of sand on the north end beaches in Avalon as of midnight last night. This beach fill requires 940,000 cubic yards of sand to be placed in the project area from 9th Street south to the northern limits of 30th Street. That leaves a volume of 710,000 cubic yards of sand to be placed on the Avalon beachfront which is essentially 24 days of work.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers and Great Lakes announced at the meeting that there will be work conducted on the Avalon beaches (weather and equipment permitting) until the end of next week. At that time, “Texas” will depart the Avalon work site to finish a beach fill project in Cape May. The Cape May project has involved the dredge “Illinois” which will depart Cape May for a project in North Carolina. The “Texas” must leave Avalon to complete the work still remaining in Cape May due to restrictions placed by the Fish and Wildlife Service before a piping plover restriction becomes effective. It is necessary for Great Lakes to finish this project by April 19 in Cape May before the dredge comes back to Avalon to resume the Avalon beach fill project. By contract, Great Lakes needs to finish the Avalon portion of this joint beach fill project by May 23, and finish the next phase of the project involving the very southerly limits of Avalon and northern Stone Harbor by June 22. The dredge is expected to return to Avalon before the end of April and continue pumping sand until the project is complete in advance of the May 23 deadline.
The Corps and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection will both be coordinating the return of the “Texas” back to Avalon upon the completion of the work in Cape May. Avalon, Stone Harbor, and all coastal communities have a past practice of working together to make sure that beach projects are coordinated and completed with the available equipment and with the various restrictions and interruptions that can include environmental concerns, unsafe weather conditions, and mechanical issues on the dredges.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
