$25 Million Beach Replenishment To Begin Friday In Manasquan

Some of the Jersey Shore’s beaches are about to become wider after a $25 million federal project designed to replenish beaches battered by Superstorm Sandy and gird against future flooding.

The Army Corps of Engineers is set to kick off on Friday the around-the-clock beach replenishment project that will widen beaches between Manasquan and Belmar. The project is expected to be completed before the start of the summer beach season.

Beaches are set to receive 8 million cubic yards of sand, taken from a location about a mile off Sandy Hook, and are expected to widen some beaches up to 250 feet. Some beaches have been depleted to as low as 75 feet, Army Corps officials said.

U.S. Rep. Christopher H. Smith, who along with other members of the New Jersey Congressional delegation helped secure funding for the project, joined a crew of Army Corps officials and local politicians to announce the start of the project in Manasquan on Thursday.

“This will bring us back and I hope will bring us back for a very, very long time,’’ Smith said.

The project is expected to set beach sands from Belmar to Manasquan at 1997 levels, restoring 16 years of erosion that aided the floodwaters from Superstorm Sandy to reach inland, Smith said.

Hurricane Sandy ripped bout 5 million cubic yards of sand from the coast between Sea Bright and Manasquan. The corps plans to replace that with about 8 million cubic yards, officials said.

Once the 24-hour replenishment operation begins dredging sand, portions of the beach will be closed in 1,000-foot sections and the corps moves north up the beach.

Operations are expected to begin in Sea Girt after the December completion of work in Manasquan, according to the corps.