NIGHTSTRIKES
02-09-2004, 12:26 PM
Brigantine OKs $1M. for beach replenishment
By JOHN BRAND Staff Writer, (609) 272-7275
BRIGANTINE - City Council approved a $1 million bond ordinance Wednesday to cover its share of a beach-replenishment project that could be under way by October.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has enough available funding to cover its share of the $20 million project, said Stewart Farrell, a coastal geologist with The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
"Brigantine is a project they want to do," he said.
The project would widen the beach from 4th Street North to either 10th Street South or 15th Street South, which has had erosion problems over the years.
The corps also ensures a 50-year commitment to maintain Brigantine's northern beaches, which is usually done on a three-year cycle, Farrell said.
The project is similar to a beach-replenishment project under way on Absecon Island, but the Absecon Island project includes the construction of sand dunes, which will not be part of the work expected for Brigantine.
The city dumped more than 1.6 million yards of sand on its northern beaches on two different occasions - 1997 and 2001.
Farrell said Wednesday that about one-third of that sand has washed away, but it has moved south along Brigantine's coast, replenishing the other two-thirds of the city's beaches.
"No sand in Brigantine has ever gone to Wildwood," Farrell said, stirring laughs from the audience at the city's public meeting.
Members of the public did not speak against the ordinance.
By JOHN BRAND Staff Writer, (609) 272-7275
BRIGANTINE - City Council approved a $1 million bond ordinance Wednesday to cover its share of a beach-replenishment project that could be under way by October.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has enough available funding to cover its share of the $20 million project, said Stewart Farrell, a coastal geologist with The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.
"Brigantine is a project they want to do," he said.
The project would widen the beach from 4th Street North to either 10th Street South or 15th Street South, which has had erosion problems over the years.
The corps also ensures a 50-year commitment to maintain Brigantine's northern beaches, which is usually done on a three-year cycle, Farrell said.
The project is similar to a beach-replenishment project under way on Absecon Island, but the Absecon Island project includes the construction of sand dunes, which will not be part of the work expected for Brigantine.
The city dumped more than 1.6 million yards of sand on its northern beaches on two different occasions - 1997 and 2001.
Farrell said Wednesday that about one-third of that sand has washed away, but it has moved south along Brigantine's coast, replenishing the other two-thirds of the city's beaches.
"No sand in Brigantine has ever gone to Wildwood," Farrell said, stirring laughs from the audience at the city's public meeting.
Members of the public did not speak against the ordinance.