Beach replenishment plans change course
Work to begin in Asbury Park 'by the end of this week if not today'
The position of a transatlantic cable line in Avon-by-the-Sea has forced the Army Corps of Engineers [ACOE] to shuffle around the logistics of an $18.3 million beach nourishment project.
Instead of starting in Avon as originally expected, the work will begin in Asbury Park “by the end of the week if not today,” said ACOE spokesperson Christopher Gardner.
Original plans called for work to begin in Avon-by-the-Sea and hit Asbury Park by April or May. Two metal bouys were to be placed near the southern and northern ends of the project, but the submarine cable in Avon forced the Army Corps to relocate one of the buoys to nearby Ocean Grove, Gardner said.
A lot of people presume most of the world’s internet connections come from satellite feeds, but that is not the case, according to Gardner. Transatlantic cables are still used to provide internet and other services to countries across the Atlantic Ocean.
“It’s really important we don’t do anything to disrupt the transatlantic cables,” he said.
Longer pipes will have to be used to pump the sand into Avon. To remain on schedule for a June 12 deadline, the work will begin in Asbury Park.
“It just depends on what makes the most sense in getting it done,” Gardner said.
A total of $102 million was allocated by the federal government in May for five beach nourishment projects throughout coastal Monmouth County from Sea Bright to Manasquan, according to a May release from Senator Pallone’s office.
The Army Corps recently completed the first replenishment contract in Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach. Construction in Long Branch and the section from Belmar to Manasquan began in November and is currently ongoing. The section of the coast from Elberon to Loch Arbour will move forward under a separate contract in autumn of 2014. Sand has not previously been placed along this section of the coast.
It is the largest beach nourishment project ever undertaken by the Army Corps and the world’s biggest beach-fill project, in terms of sand volume.
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