Work Begins On Living Shoreline Project In Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Work on the longest living shoreline project in New Jersey history is underway in Ocean City, city officials announced. In the fall, Ocean City received a permit for wetlands restoration and enhancement at Shooting Island in Great Egg Harbor Bay.

Shooting Island has seen significant degradation with the shoreline receding nearly 60 feet since just 1978, according to city officials. The permit enables the city to move forward with another piece of its long-range plan for dredging, maintenance and restoration of the city’s beautiful back-bay recreational area.

The first phase of the project focuses on coastal resiliency and the reduction of storm impacts to the bayfront. More than 150 acres of tidal wetlands will be restored and protected. The project also will restore habitat for marine life, birds and other coastal species.

Charter Contracting of Boston was awarded the contract in November, and began work on Wednesday, Dec. 19, on the northern and western shorelines. Work to install 2,700 linear feet of rock sill and 1,450 linear feet of oyster habitat will run Mondays through Saturdays.

The sill will function as protection for the Shooting Island wetlands and will absorb energy from the waves and currents. The oyster habitat blocks will be spaced to promote the flow of tidal water between the marsh and bay.

Future phases could use material from the bottom of adjacent shallow waterways to further restore the island. The work will take advantage of a $2.6 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to experiment with ways to “create and stabilize wetlands,” officials said.

Ocean City Mayor Jay A. Gillian and Ocean City Council said they hope the city’s commitment to the preservation and maintenance of the back bay will help other shore communities in addressing similar issues in their efforts to keep their waterways open.

The permit was issued to Ocean City in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, N.J Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Department of Interior, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and National Marine Fisheries Service.

The attached image was provided by Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen.