Protection For Toms River: Long-Awaited Army Corps Dune Project Goes Out To Bid

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Nearly four years after Superstorm Sandy tore through Ortley Beach, destroying hundreds of homes, Paul Jeffrey can see a light of hope and protection, as the Army Corps of Engineers has begun seeking bids on a dune construction project that officials say will protect homes and businesses along the Northern Ocean County coast.

"This is not only about the new dune system protecting property," said Jeffrey, president of the Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association. "It is also about helping people sleep better, and reducing stress and anxiety that the next storm, even like today's nor'easter,, may result in water again pouring down the street and threatening lives and belongings."

"Once complete, the protective dune system will lead to better personal health and happier lives," Jeffrey said.

Bob Martin, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and Lt. Colonel Michael Bliss, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District, made the announcement at a news conference in Lavallette Thursday morning.

The Army Corps beach and dune project will cover 14 miles of coastline along the Barnegat Peninsula, from Point Pleasant Beach all the way to the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township, and is expected to cost about $150 million, officials have said. The work is expected to begin in the spring.

“We are pleased to be in a position to advertise the contract and move forward on this vital project,” Bliss said. "Getting to this point required a great deal of hard work at multiple levels of government. Ultimately, this project will serve to reduce the risk of storm damages for communities that were among the hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy.”

“As the mayor of a coastal community that lost more than $2 billion in ratables from Superstorm Sandy, I couldn’t be happier that this project is finally moving forward,” Toms River Mayor Thomas F. Kelaher said. “The U.S. Army Corps’ dune and beach replenishment program is critical to the protection of Toms River and its valuable resources from flooding from future tropical storms, hurricanes and nor’easters. Once completed, this project will not only benefit Toms River residents, our homes and businesses, but all New Jersey residents.”

Getting to this point has required a great deal of effort in obtaining easements for access to private and municipally owned properties all along the peninsula. Officials said out of 545 total easements needed, all but 149 have been obtained. Nearly 350 were granted voluntarily, officials said. Of the 149 condemnation proceedings in litigation under the Eminent Domain Act, 83 are in Bay Head, 53 in Point Pleasant Beach, nine in Berkeley and four in Mantoloking.

The fight to get easements has been a significant factor in delays on moving forward with the project, DEP and Army Corps officials have said in the past.

After the award of the bid, expected this fall, work will begin on the stretch from southern Mantoloking through Brick, Lavallette, Toms River, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.

Work in Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, northern Mantoloking and the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township will begin after necessary easements have been obtained, officials said.

“We are grateful to the majority of property owners who stepped up and voluntarily provided their easements because they recognize that this is the right thing to do for their neighbors and their communities, not to mention for the protection of their own properties,” Martin said. “We remain disappointed in those who still cannot see the bigger picture. We will use all necessary means to secure these easements, including our court-affirmed eminent domain authority.”

A key part of the project is the construction of dunes and beaches along a four-mile stretch of sea wall in Mantoloking and Brick that the DEP teamed up with the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to build as added protection for Route 35, which was severed when the Atlantic Ocean breached the peninsula at the base of the Mantoloking Bridge during Sandy.

Route 35 has since been reconstructed to modern design standards, but the wall, comprised of 40-foot-high steel sheet pilings driven deep into the sand, serves as emergency backup protection for the road with the beach and dune system providing primary protection to the road. Route 35 also was severely damaged in Ortley Beach, so much so that it was the last portion of the peninsula reopened to residents in the wake of the storm.

The dune project will put some 11 million cubic yards of sand will be pumped from offshore to build dunes and beaches. For most of the project area, dunes will be built 22 feet above sea level. Beaches will be constructed from 100 feet to 300 feet wide and 8.5 feet above sea level. The project area will receive periodic replenishment projects over the course of 50 years to replace sand lost through normal erosion, officials have said.

The federal government will be paying for 65 percent of the project using money approved under the 2013 Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, which funds projects that Congress had previously authorized but had not been completed by the time Sandy hit in October 2012. New Jersey will pay for 35 percent of the project from the state’s Shore Protection Fund.

A number of residents, particularly in Ortley Beach, had been clamoring for the project, particularly as the process of rebuilding homes has left many feeling vulnerable. Thursday's announcement, Jeffrey said, was something that speaks to the ability of various groups to come together for a common goal.

"This country has a lot of problems right now," Jeffrey said. "This project was an example of how the local community, at a grassroots level, can work with local government, state government and the federal government to bring a solution to a major issue facing the community."

"The level of cooperation seen in accomplishing this milestone, getting all the hundreds of easements necessary and getting the bid out, across multiple levels of community and government, should be used an example of how people should work together to solve issues vital to the future of this country," Jeffrey said.

The details on the Army Corps bid solicitation can be read by clicking here.

Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher speaks at the news conference after Lt. Colonel Michael Bliss of the Army Corps of Engineers and state DEP Commissioner Bob Martin announced the seeking of bids for the beach and dune project. Photo by Stacy Proebstle, Toms River Township