Long Beach Island Dune Project Moves Step Forward

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Representative Kathleen Rice have announced that a contract has been awarded for phase one of the Long Beach Island Dune Project.

The $37.6 million contract was awarded to H&L Contracting and consists of groin rehabilitation and construction of new groins.

“The Long Beach dune rehabilitation and protection project is a priority for our district, and this contract is a major first step toward building a stronger, more resilient shoreline that will better protect coastal communities like Long Beach when the next storm hits,” said Representative Kathleen Rice.

“This contract award is the result of outstanding teamwork and cooperation on all levels of government to increase resiliency and reduce risk from storm damage on Long Island’s south shore in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,” said Col. David Caldwell, commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District. “Construction will require some short-term patience and understanding from the public as we work to put these long-term risk mitigation and resiliency measures in place for this important coastal storm risk management project.”

Following passage of the Sandy Relief Bill, Schumer worked hard to secure full federal funding for this project. The Sandy relief bill that was signed into law required only that the feds pick up 65% of the project cost, but that amount could be increased if the projects met the criteria of “on-going construction” and are updated to make them stronger, more resilient, and offer better protection against storms.

The Federal Government is paying 100 percent of the cost of initial construction of the project using Sandy relief funds and 65 percent of the future renourishment costs subject to additional appropriations.

The estimated cost of the initial construction of the project is $230 million.