OCEAN CITY — Bulldozers and offshore dredges are expected to return to Ocean City in mid-October with the return of an expedited beach replenishment project.
City Engineer Terry McGean reported during the first day of the town’s comprehensive strategic planning sessions on Wednesday that the working plan for the start of the latest beach replenishment project was for mid-October. Earlier this year, the state’s three-member Board of Public Works approved the $4.6 million needed for the state contribution to the beach replenishment project.
“They’re looking at starting the week of Oct. 16,” said McGean. “We’ve been hearing lately some local criticism for the beach replenishment project, but I think some of that is we’ve been the victim of our own success. Before we did beach replenishment, there were a lot of places in Ocean City that didn’t have a beach.”
McGean said the contractor would work from north to south. He said the project is expected to take 40 to 60 days to complete, depending on a variety of factors including the weather.
The Ocean City beaches are routinely replenished every four years with periodic emergency projects as needed following storms and other natural events. The resort’s beaches have taken a pounding in the last few weeks from the remnants of Hurricanes Harvey, Jose and Maria, but no major damage has been reported.
Beach replenishment began in Ocean City in 1994 through a 50-year agreement with the town, Worcester County and the state of Maryland partnering with the federal Army Corps of Engineers, which provides over 50 percent of the funding for the massive undertaking.
The last beach replenishment project in Ocean City occurred in 2014 following Hurricane Sandy, making the next phase in the typical four-year cycle set for 2018.
However, after the beaches took a beating during Winter Storm Jonas in January 2016, it was determined by the Army Corps of Engineers the next phase would need to be expedited to bring the beaches and dune system back to pre-storm conditions. The project was initially slated for this spring, but when it appeared the timetable and certain deadlines could move the project past Memorial Day and into early June, it was decided to back-burner it until this fall.
Roughly 883,000 cubic yards of sand will be pumped onto the Ocean City beaches from offshore sources.
