ORTLEY BEACH -- A massive federal beach replenishment project for the northern Ocean County peninsula, already a month overdue, is showing signs of life after construction materials and barges arrived off the coast of Ortley Beach in Toms River on Thursday morning.
Township Mayor Thomas Kelaher said he was disappointed by the project delays in light of the help state environmental protection officials had promised the Shore community left in tatters after Hurricane Sandy.
But as construction equipment showed up early Thursday morning, Kelaher said he's hopeful that the May 25 projected start date from the state will stick.
"There's no question. They're here now," Kelaher said. "This has been four years in the making. It's been a struggle but it's so essential."
Ortley has historically had narrow beaches, but since Sandy in 2012, the Shore community has struggled even more to keep sand on its beaches, particularly after nor-easters.
Scheduling Ortley Beach as the first site for the work, state environmental protection officials agreed with Toms River's argument that Ortley Beach should get priority in the $128 million replenishment project.
However, only part of the project will be done before the dredge moves on to another project in two weeks.
According to a schedule issued by the state Department of Environmental Protection in March, Ortley Beach was planned to get its replenishment between mid- and late-April. Now that that date has passed, the replenishment work for other towns on the peninsula has been delayed by about six weeks.
The late start was caused by delays in work by the contractor, Cranford-based Weeks Marine, on a project in Florida, local officials said they were told.
Whatever the reason for the delay, Councilwoman Maria Maruca said, she's pleased at signs that work should start soon.
"We're just so happy this project is getting off the drawing board," Maruca said.
During the two weeks crews will be working in Ortley Beach, they will be pumping sand onto the beach, which is about 4,000 feet long, to make it 150 feet wide, Kelaher and Maruca said. The construction of 22-foot-high dunes along the length of the beach will be done when crews eventually return, they said.
Kelaher said the project, which most likely would run through Memorial Day weekend, would not be very disruptive to beachgoers because the traditionally cool air and water temperatures over that holiday weekend tend to keep the crowds light.
The round-the-clock work involves closing 1,000 feet of beach at a time.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which designed the project, has set the following schedule for northern Ocean County:
- Ortley Beach (Initial beach fill): May 25 and returning to work in November through December 2017
- Mantoloking: Mid August 2017 to October 2017
- Seaside Heights: October to November 2017
- Seaside Park: December 2017 to January 2018
- Brick: Winter 2018
- Normandy Beach and Ocean Beach (Toms River):Winter 2018
- Lavallette: Spring 2018
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.