Ocean City Could Get 1.5 Miles Of New Sand In Next Month

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Ocean City's southern beaches are getting a makeover. The Army Corps of Engineers will begin the Ocean City phase of its beach replenishment project as early as Thursday.

The contractor received 505,000 cubic yards of new sand to put across 1.5 miles of beach. Original estimates called for 455,000 cubic yards, but the volume increased after new surveys accounted for storm damage.

This phase of the project should be done within 30 days, but that will also depend on weather, equipment and other factors.

Workers recently laid a pipeline from a dredge in Corson's Inlet to the beach between 58th and 59th Street. Two blocks of beach at a time will be closed to the public as work moves northward toward 45th Street.

Work to rebuild the northern end is still set to begin around May 1. Officials expect the entire project completed by early June.

Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Strathmere are part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers's $32.5 million beach replenishment project.

During the work, geotubes will also be installed on beaches that heavily eroded during October's Subtropical Storm Melissa. The City would install geotubes in the beaches around 5th Street. The beaches from 5th to 7th Street suffered "total dune loss" during the storm, according to a state report. Read more: Damages At Ocean City Beaches From Subtropical Storm

Geotubes are giant cylindrical structures made of plastic fabric and stuffed with sand, buried by more sand and dune grass. Read more: Ocean City Pols Approve Geotube Funding For Heavily Eroded Beach

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