Firm Earns Award For Post-Sandy Berkeley Island Park Project

BERKELEY, N.J. — A New Jersey firm responsible for restoring John C. Bartlett, Jr. County Park earned a prestigious engineering award for the project. T&M Associates received the Grand Honor Award in the Non-Transportation Project category by the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey (ACEC-NJ) at their 2019 Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet.

The park was devastated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and sustained significant damage to its infrastructure and amenities. There was a great loss of shoreline and severe erosion.

The restoration process involved living shorelines, stone revetments, off-shore breakwaters and a new bulkhead to reestablish the shoreline and protect the park from future erosion and storms.

The park has many new amenities, including Ocean County's first spray park. Other features include a revitalized 100-foot fishing/crabbing pier, bait cutting stations with water service, restrooms, gazebos, a covered pavilion, a playground, horseshoe pits, shuffleboard courts and a boardwalk.

“It is an honor to be recognized at this level,” Gary Dahms, president and CEO of T&M Associates, said in a statement. “This park is of great importance to the community and region as it promotes health, well-being and enjoyment for the county residents and many visitors. The project team had tremendous hurdles to overcome to achieve this and deserves the recognition.”

The project team endured several major challenges, including reacquiring eroded land from the state, a tedious permitting process, developing innovative designs to reduce erosion and damage from future storms, and a construction schedule hampered by a long, cold winter with four Nor'easters. But the park was able to open in time for Memorial Day Weekend in 2018, as planned.

T&M Associates is a national consulting, environmental, engineering, technical services and construction management company. Here are more pictures below from this project:

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