Dodge Island and Padre Island Working in Delaware

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District, has just released these amazing photos from the Delaware coastal protection project.

The hopper dredgers Dodge Island and Padre Island, owned and operated by the contractor Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, are busy pumping more than 650,000 cubic yards of sand onto the beaches of Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, USACE said.

The scope of the project is to replenish sand on Dewey Beach and Rehoboth Beach caused by storm damage, construct automotive and pedestrian dune crossings, install sand fence and plant dune grass and install two storm water outfall extensions at Virginia Avenue and Maryland Avenue.

The project sponsor is the State of Delaware and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

The total cost of the project is $11.2 million; USACE will pay 65 percent of that cost and DNREC will pay the remaining 35 percent.

Wave action has also caused damage over the past eight years to the outfalls and the city has been relying on temporary fixes.

The new outfalls will have a more robust design and withstand storm damage with steel pipe for added strength and an enhanced support structure around the pipe.

[mappress mapid=”23380″]