The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) have formally marked the start of construction work for the Union Beach Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project.
The first contract, which represents phase 1 of this coastal storm risk reduction project, was awarded to Weeks Marine, Cranford, N.J. in the amount of $50,035,435.
The project will include construction of a beach berm with a planted dune, pedestrian, and vehicle crossovers, as well as two terminal groins. The project occupies approximately 1.8 square miles along the coast of Raritan Bay in the northern portion of Monmouth County, New Jersey.
“Today we close the final chapter on the planning phases for the Union Beach Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project and move on to actual shovels in the ground,” said Colonel Matthew W. Luzzatto , commander, New York District. “This important step could not have been achieved without the support of our partners at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.”
Residential and commercial structures in the area have experienced multiple occurrences of flooding caused by coastal storm inundation.
This problem has progressively worsened in recent years due to it being a low-lying waterfront community, increased urbanization in the area with structures susceptible to flooding from rainfall and coastal storm surges, erosion, and wave attack, combined with restrictions to channel flow in the tidal creeks.
Construction of this first phase is expected to be completed by 2024 and the overall project is scheduled for a 2030 completion.