NJ - Beach Replenishment Project on Pause for Review of Bids
The federal agency that will oversee a major beach replenishment project this fall or winter for Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Strathmere is considering its options after bids for the contract came in significantly higher than the government’s estimate.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to restore the storm-eroded beaches in each town by placing fresh sand in the following locations:
- 257,000 cubic yards of sand in the south end of Ocean City from about 45th Street to 59th Street.
- 456,000 cubic yards in Strathmere from Corson’s Inlet to about Taylor Avenue.
- 252,000 cubic yards in central Sea Isle City from about 29th Street to 53rd Street.
- 388,000 cubic yards in the south end of Sea Isle from about 73rd Street to Townsends Inlet.
Two companies submitted competitive bids for the contract, but in both cases the amounts were well above the $29.3 million prebid estimate by the Army Corps.
Great Lakes Dredging & Dock Co. of Houston submitted a bid of about $33.8 million, while Weeks Marine Inc. of Covington, La., made a bid of nearly $43.9 million, bid documents show.
It is not yet clear what the Army Corps will do in response to the bids. One option would be to reject the bids and seek new ones, which would push back the start of the project.
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Read also
FL - $50M in funds to go toward replenishing Brevard County beaches, WESH 2 Orlando / October 04, 2023
NY - Army Corps Hopes to Start Montauk Beach Restoration This Winter, East Hampton Star / October 05, 2023
NY - Officials, residents on Fire Island call on feds to provide emergency beach repairs, News 12 Long Island / October 03, 2023
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The start and completion dates for the work are not yet known, but the Army Corps previously indicated it wanted the project to get underway this fall.
“We are working through contractual and funding processes at this time and hope to have an update soon,” Army Corps spokesman Steve Rochette said of the project in an email Wednesday.
He added that the Army Corps is hopeful it will be able to award a contract and move forward with construction.
In addition, the Army Corps is considering an option for an extra 1 million cubic yards of sand to restore damaged beaches and dunes in Ocean City, Sea Isle and Strathmere. The options would include dune repairs, new sand fencing, dune grass planting and dune crossover repairs.
The government’s prebid estimate for the full-scale work — which includes the base contract for the beach replenishment project, plus the options — was $45.6 million.
Great Lakes Dredging & Dock submitted a bid of $49.6 million for the full-scale work, while Weeks Marine came in at $63.3 million.
