Ocean City Updates Boardwalk, Road Projects Across Town

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City says several construction and infrastructure projects are moving ahead this spring, including Boardwalk reconstruction, dredging work and utility repairs affecting traffic in parts of town.

Mayor Jay A. Gillian said decking and concrete work are complete for the Boardwalk reconstruction project from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street, and railings are being installed. He also said a separate project to reinforce and redeck the Boardwalk from 12th Street to 14th Street is progressing, with crews working first on the side closest to the storefronts, then the middle section and finally the side closest to the beach. Gillian said that sequence will allow the Boardwalk to remain open at all times.

Another Boardwalk project, from 14th Street to 16th Street, is scheduled for the fall, according to Gillian. He said the improvements are being funded largely by a $4.9 million Boardwalk Preservation Fund grant.

At the former car dealership lot next to the Ocean City Community Center, Gillian said a contractor is installing irrigation and placing topsoil. A portion of the open space will be used for additional parking for the Community Center, and final paving is expected to be complete in April, he said.

Gillian said bayside maintenance dredging continues at Venetian Bayou and will move next to Carnival Bayou, South Harbor and the area around the 14th Street outfall. In downtown Ocean City, he said construction has begun on a new lighting system on the 600 block of Asbury Avenue.

The city’s annual alley repaving program is set to begin next week with the Ocean/Atlantic alley from Third Street to Fifth Street, Gillian said.

Other scheduled work includes the Bay/Simpson alley from North Street to Second Street, the street end at Fifth, the 700 block of the Central/Wesley alley and the 900 block of the West/Asbury alley.

Gillian said major repair and improvement projects from Cape May County and utility companies are continuing even though city road projects have been limited this spring. He said repairs to sewer mains are ongoing in the Gardens and along West Avenue at 31st Street. West Avenue remains closed from 30th Street to 32nd Street, along with parts of 31st Street. Gillian said crews will be at the intersection of Wesley Road and Battersea on Monday, but work will move off Wesley for the rest of the week.

He also said Cape May County’s work to elevate and improve Roosevelt Boulevard is ongoing, with paving of the south side of the roadway anticipated in about four weeks.