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Repairs on a boardwalk access ramp in Asbury Park that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy are scheduled to begin next week.

The Sunset Avenue pedestrian walkway [photo at top], which connects Ocean Avenue with the boardwalk between Convention Hall and the North Beach Pavilion, has been blocked by metal gates since the storm struck last October.

The ramp was “deemed unsafe by the city,” according to Asbury Park City Engineer Joe Cunha.

Boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette is responsible for the maintenance of the property, he said.

“A contractor has notice to proceed,” said Carrie Turner, director of retail for Madison Marquette. “The [city’s] construction office knows. As long as they don’t hit any snags construction on the walkway should start next week.”

The walkway was damaged near the boardwalk, where the boardwalk meets the concrete [photo at right]. It may have been uneven before the storm as well, Turner said.

“There was a lot of wave action in that area,” she said.

Instead of repouring patches of the concrete in places the walkway was damaged, the entire path will be recemented, according to Turner.

“We need to completely break it up and repour the whole thing,” she said.

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