Yannuzzi Group has won a $1.1 million contract to conduct periodic nourishment of the Lower Cape Meadows-Cape May Point project.
The project is a joint effort of USACE Philadelphia District, NJDEP, Borough of Cape May Point, City of Cape May, Lower Township, the Nature Conservancy, and Cape May Point State Park.
The contract calls for ‘backpassing’, meaning that the sand will be excavated from areas along the upper beach.
Work will involve excavating approximately 164,000 cubic yards of sand from the upper beach.
The sand will then be placed in two locations:
The redistribution of sand from the upper to lower beach will return the area to the design elevation. Also, it will serve to benefit beach nesting birds such as the Piping Plover and Least Terns.
The initial construction for the Lower Cape May Meadows-Cape May Point ecosystem restoration project was completed in 2007 and has been nourished/repaired in subsequent years.
Furthermore, work is designed to reduce damages from coastal storm events and to protect the valuable fish and wildlife habitat that exists on the beach and in the wetlands behind the dune.
Also, USACE will issue a Notice to Proceed in early November with construction to follow in the fall/winter timeframe.