TOMS RIVER -- Emergency work to repair a gaping hole in the bulkhead of the Manasquan Inlet in Point Pleasant Beach is planned to start next week when crews can have better access to the damaged wall during prime hours.
Mayor Stephen Reid said construction crews and divers plan to work on the bulkhead, damaged two weeks ago in a powerful nor'easter, when low tides fall in the late morning and early afternoon. The contract calls for the work to be completed within 30 days, he said.
The borough allocated $42,000 for a contractor to make the repairs to the western section of the bulkhead that blew apart at Loughran's Point after tides from a nor'easter took their toll on an already weakened spot.
The 10-foot hole expanded by 2 feet in the two weeks since it opened up.
In 2013, the state Department of Environmental Protection appropriated $500,000 to replace the entire bulkhead, said Bob Considine, a DEP spokesman.
He said the department received the design plans for the joint state and federal project in January but he doesn't yet have a time frame for when the work is expected to start.
Reid has said the borough couldn't wait for the state project because the land behind the bulkhead continues to erode with each tide.
The borough will be reimbursed as long as the repair ties into the state's larger replacement project, Considine said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has to conduct a permit review and approve the connection between the local bulkhead and the federal bulkhead, which is constructed of concrete, said Army Corps spokesman Stephen Rochette.
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