AVALON – Avalon’s north-end beaches were badly eroded by winter storms, necessitating a larger back-passing project than was initially contemplated. County bridgework made it difficult for the borough to bring the needed heavy equipment onto the island.
An emergency in Princeton Harbor required an unexpected dredging effort and special state authorization.
Avalon Borough Council was able to announce the completion of both projects, at its May 26 meeting, days before the unofficial start of summer.
The emergency permit for Princeton Harbor allowed the borough’s contractor to remove dangerous buildups of material in the navigation channel. The preconstruction meeting for the dredging was May 3, and the project is substantially complete.
The borough’s Public Works personnel transported 55,000 cubic yards of sand to eroded north-end beaches from a borrow area between 33rd and 40th streets.
Borough Administrator Scott Wahl said the project was completed without the need to take any dry beach sand from the borrow area, thereby protecting those beaches. The work was completed in 17 days, with over 2,000 loads of sand transported.
