Long Branch Beach Replenishment Project Will Start After Labor Day

By Christopher Sheldon

A contract for Long Branch's beach replenishment project was been awarded and the project is expected to start after Labor Day, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Army awarded a $40,067,500 contract on August 16, 2013 to Manson Construction to the project which will cover an area between Sevens Presidents Park southward to the north of Lake Takanassee.

The Long Branch contract is part of a larger project that will cover the beaches from Sea Bright to Manasquan and build the beaches back to their original size.

“The Corps’ previously constructed beach erosion control and storm risk reduction project along the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey from Sea Bright to Manasquan was significantly damaged when Hurricane Sandy caused severe beach erosion resulting in the loss of roughly 5 million cubic yards of sand in the project area,” Army Corps’ New York District Project Manager Jenifer Thalhauser said in a release.

The release states that the work will involve large pipes and heavy machinery and will cause the "rolling closures of roughly 1,000 foot-wide sections of beach where construction is ongoing."

Congressman Frank Pallone has said the Elberon to Loch Arbour section of the project would begin at Takanassee Lake and end at Deal Lake and would not likely start until some time in 2014.

Long Branch officials have said they will not begin any repairs to the city's Hurricane Sandy-damaged bluffs or boardwalk until the current Long Branch beach replenishment project is completed. The city is also waiting for funding from FEMA to make the repairs.

The Long Branch beach replenishment project should be completed by the beginning of 2014, officials have said.