Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $17.7 million contract for the first phase of the Port Monmouth Coastal Storm Risk Management Project to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oak Brook, Illinois.
The project will reduce the risks that coastal storms pose to residents and businesses in the Port Monmouth area. The project will be federally funded through the Sandy relief package that Pallone fought for and helped to pass in Congress in January 2013.
This first phase of the project includes dune restoration, beach replenishment, groin work, extension of the fishing pier, and construction of 2,640 feet of protective dunes, which will involve roughly 400,000 cubic yards of sand. Work is expected to begin this summer.
“I am very glad to hear that work is set to begin on this crucial project, which will protect so many homes and businesses in our area from future flooding, ” said Pallone. “Many in Port Monmouth faced serious flooding during Sandy. All along the Bayshore, flooding has become an increasingly common phenomenon as severe storms have become more frequent and residential and commercial development has increased. The work being done will strengthen our local infrastructure and reduce future damages.”
Pallone announced that this flood control project will address major flood prevention to protect the low-lying residential and commercial areas in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown Township. The project’s second phase will include constructing a system of levees, a floodwall, and nearby pump stations.
The entire $110 million project will be funded by the Sandy relief package and will offer significant protection to the area, which has suffered frequent flooding, erosion and damage from rain and coastal storms in recent years.
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Press Release, May 14, 2014