Belmar Turns A Corner on Boardwalk Reconstruction

In less than a month after superstorm Sandy wiped out Belmar's boardwalk, officials are already moving to ensure a new one is in place by Memorial Day weekend. 

The governing body at its meeting tonight is scheduled to introduce a $20 million bond ordinance to fund the reconstruction that, Doherty said, officials hope begins sometime next month. 

Officials have said that the boardwalk reconstruction project will cost roughly $17 million, while the other $3 million will go toward the cleanup. 

"We're moving as quickly as we can on it," Doherty said. "We want to be very aggressive." 

And to help expedite the process, the bond ordinance's second public reading is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 3 -- as soon as the law permits. 

Doherty said the old boardwalk materials are virtually cleared from the beachfront and crews are sifting the sand for extra debris and working on returning the sand to its rightful place along the ocean. 

"I'm very happy with the progress we made over the last three weeks," he said.

The mayor said the borough's goal is to finish that job by the end of the month. 

"So by December we'll have a clean canvas for a new boardwalk," he said.