On November 10, 2014, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $57.6-million contract to the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company to complete the coastal storm damage reduction project from the southern end of Ocean City to Strathmere and Sea Isle. The project, which entails the construction of a dune and a berm, or beach, in front of each community, is a joint effort of the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Work in the southern end of Ocean City, from 34th Street to Corson’s Inlet state Park, will involve construction of a dune approximately 13 feet above sea level, with a width at the top of 25 feet, and a berm or beach extending 100 feet from the seaward base of the dune. On Ludlum Island, which includes Strathmere and Sea Isle, the dune will be about 15 feet high and the berm 50 feet wide.
The project was authorized in 2007 but did not receive funding until 2013 when Congress enacted the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 (Public Law 113-2, or often referred to as the Hurricane Sandy Relief Bill).