Pumping sand onto Sea Bright to Manasquan stretch

Every few years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredges sand from the Atlantic Ocean and pumps it to a 21-mile stretch of beach from the Borough of Sea Bright to Manasquan, New Jersey.

According to USACE, this coastal storm risk management and erosion control project aims to reduce hurricane and storm damage to New Jersey’s beaches. 

Work is currently underway on the latest $26 million cycle of beach renourishment.

“This cycle of beach renourishment will restore more than 1 million cubic yards of sand to New Jersey beaches,” said Jason Shea, New York District project manager. “It will help protect local communities, prevent damages from hurricanes and nor’easters, and benefit the economy.”

The project is 65% federally funded and 35% non-federally funded by the state of New Jersey. The municipalities receiving sand and Monmouth County contribute to the non-federal share of the project costs.

Under the project’s current contract, work began December 20, 2021, and is scheduled for completion in the following days.

To keep work on schedule, dredging operations run 24/7 on the largest dredger in the country, the Ellis Island.

The dredger, owned by Houston, Texas-based contractor Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, holds up to 15,000 cubic yards of sand.

The dredge transports two to four loads per day from the Sea Bright Borrow Area, an underwater sediment source near Sandy Hook, New Jersey, to a pipeline that moves sand to the most-eroded parts of the beach.