Stone Harbor/Avalon Beach Replenishment Update

STONE HARBOR — Stone Harbor and Avalon officials attended the weekly progress meeting on the Avalon/Stone Harbor beach fill project on Thurs., March 9. The southerly portion of the Stone Harbor project was completed on Tues., March 7 at 3:00 a.m. The dredge “Texas” was towed to Cape May for routine repair work. It is possible the “Texas” could leave the Cape May Inlet on Thurs. afternoon, March 7, if conditions are favorable. The “Texas” will arrive in Townsend’s Inlet where the beach project will begin in the coming days.
394,000 cubic yards of sand have been placed on the Stone Harbor beaches. Avalon’s project will include 940,000 cubic yards of sand to be dredged and placed on the beaches from 9th Street south to the northerly limits of 30th Street. This project is expected to take between 30-40 days to complete, and should be wrapped up before the end of April, conditions permitting. The daily production rate of the “Texas” can exceed 20,000 cubic yards of material for the beach. The new beach will also include new crossovers, fencing, and eventually a dune grass planting. The project will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will only stop for unsafe weather conditions or a mechanical issue on the dredge itself.
174 pieces of dredge pipe will be used for this project. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company will be moving equipment along the beach until March 15 when the environmental restrictions are in place on a portion of Avalon’s central beachfront. There is an RFP being considered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers that should result in an additional 340,000 cubic yards of sand to be placed on Avalon’s beaches from 77th Street to 80th Street, and in northern Stone Harbor from 80th Street to 105th Street That work would be conducted in May, 2017.
Go to the following link to see photos and summary of the project by the Army Corp of Engineers: https://www.flickr.com/photos/philadelphiausace/albums/72157681118166736