Commission to unveil plans for Wesley Lake restoration
Retaining wall will be repaired and 4,500 cubic yards of sediment removed
On Wednesday, March 19, at 3 p.m. members of the Wesley Lake Commission will announce their plans for the lake’s upcoming restoration project at a special press conference.
The announcement will take place on the Pilgrim Pathway Footbridge located on the lake, the most easterly bridge between Ocean Grove and Asbury Park, according to a release from the commission.
The project includes repair of the damaged concrete wall on the southerly side of Wesley Lake and the removal of 4,500 cubic yards of sediment from the lake, the release stated.
Wesley Lake separates the northern portion of Ocean Grove from Asbury Park.
Funds for the restoration project were secured last July through a federal grant from the National Resource Conservation Service [NRCS] administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. The agency’s purpose is to help landowners “conserve, maintain and improve their natural resources.”
The scope of the $1.3 million grant addresses repairs for the damaged Wesley Lake retaining wall, removal of storm sediment and debris from both Wesley and Fletcher lakes, and inspection of the stability of the shorelines, and maintenance of the overall improvements, Leanne Hoffmann, director of engineering and planning for Neptune Township, previously told the Sun. Fletcher Lake lies on the southern border of Ocean Grove, between Ocean Grove and Bradley Beach.
Additional federal funds in the amount of $486,000 for the removal of post-Sandy sediment from Wesley Lake were announced through Congressman Pallone’s office in November, along with other funds for the cleanup of several Monmouth and Middlesex county waterways.
At the conference, details of the Wesley Lake project will be discussed.
Members of the Neptune Township Committee voted to rejected all bids to replace the sunken portion of the retaining wall after their initial request for proposals turned out to be too costly. The sunken portion is within the Ocean Grove Historic District and must be rebuilt to comply with State Historic Preservation Office guidelines. They have since rebid the project based on less costly method that complies with standards.
[Photo above, at right, provided by the Wesley Lake Commission.]
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