Sand From Inlet Project Will Be Used To Repair LBI Beaches

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ - The state Department of Environmental Protection plans to use sand dredged from the clogged Little Egg Inlet to repair beaches and dunes on southern Long Beach Island.

“This project is designed to have the multiple benefits of restoring beaches that are economically vital for shore tourism and storm protection while making it safe for boaters to again use Little Egg Inlet,” said David Rosenblatt, the DEP’s Assistant Commissioner for Engineering and Construction. “We look forward to having the project completed in time for the next tourism and boating season.”

Illinois-based Great Lakes Dock and Dredge Co. launched the $18.4 million project on Jan. 18 by taking sand from the southern portion of the inlet to repair beaches in Holgate and Beach Haven. The inlet is a major thoroughfare for recreational and commercial fishing boats between southern Long Beach Island and Brigantine, according to a DEP release.

The Little Egg Inlet is one of the widest inlets in New Jersey and provides access to the Little Egg Harbor portion of Barnegat Bay and Great Bay. The project is funded by the DEP’s Shore Protection program.

The Little Egg channel has never been dredged. In the past, the Coast Guard would mark the safest natural channel through the inlet. But by March 2017, the shoaling was so severe that navigational buoys were removed because there was no safe channel to mark.

The Little Egg Inlet project will clear a mile-long portion of the channel that is 24 feet below mean sea level.

Sand replacement work began near Susan Avenue in Holgate and is working north toward Beach Haven. Work has now begun in the area near Jeffries Avenue in Beach Haven. The work will take about two weeks, depending upon the weather.

Dredge operations will then move onto Rosemma Avenue in the Holgate and will work southward to the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge border. Pumping in this section should take about three weeks.
The project should be done by mid-March, if the weather cooperates.

The goal is to move some 700,000 cubic yards of sand from the inlet to the beaches, with an option to move an additional 300,000 cubic yards if needed, according to the release.

The DEP is also partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Brigantine in a $10.6 million project to pump 755,000 cubic yards of sand from the much smaller Brigantine Inlet, south of Little Egg Inlet, to repair beaches and dunes in that city that were damaged by a January 2016 Nor'easter. The project began Jan. 19.

Photos: Courtesy of the state Department of Environmental Protection.