USA: Contract Awarded for Jetty Repair at Island Beach State Park

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District has awarded a contract for the repair of the north jetty at Barnegat Inlet, which protects the southern tip of state-owned Island Beach State Park in Ocean County, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bob Martin announced yesterday.

The contract was awarded to Agate Construction Company of Clermont in Cape May County for $7.6 million to repair approximately 740 feet of the jetty on the north side of the inlet that was battered by Superstorm Sandy. The project is expected to begin later this month and be completed by the fall.

“This project will bring much-needed stabilization of the jetty at Island Beach State Park, and should be the final piece of the post-storm restoration of our state park, which the Christie Administration has been fully committed to since Superstorm Sandy,” DEP Commissioner Martin said. “This is part of the overall coastal repair and restoration effort along the entire New Jersey coast being done by the Army Corps of Engineers, in coordination with the DEP, that will result in a more resilient state shoreline.”

Superstorm Sandy caused the displacement of stone along a 740-foot portion of the north jetty that borders Island Beach State Park’s shoreline. The repair work will involve rebuilding the cross-section of the jetty using existing capstone, supplemented with additional capstone, corestone, slushed concrete and stone-filled mattresses.

During the project, all mobile sport fishing access points will remain open to permit holders. But the beach area adjacent and to the north of the jetty will be closed for the duration of the project.

“While we recognize the jetty is a popular fishing destination, it is imperative that the jetty area be closed to all go park-goers for their own safety during this project,” said Mark Texel, State Park Director for the DEP. “Ultimately, we will have a stronger jetty that will best serve Barnegat Inlet and the south end of our park, and jetty fishing can resume.”

The Barnegat Inlet north jetty was first constructed in 1940 and raised in elevation in 1974. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the inlet last July. The inlet requires dredging to provide a safe and reliable navigation channel for the U.S. Coast Guard and a large fishing fleet consisting of full-time commercial, charter and recreational vessels.

Shaped by storms and tides, Island Beach State Park is a narrow barrier island stretching for 10 miles between the ocean and Barnegat Bay. It is one of New Jersey’s last significant remnants of a barrier island ecosystem and is one of the few remaining undeveloped barrier beaches on the north Atlantic coast.

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Press Release, February 11, 2014