FENWICK ISLAND – Delays in a long-awaited beach replenishment project could push the completion date for Delaware beaches into the summer season.
Last month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Philadelphia District awarded a $17.2 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (GLDD) to dredge 1.2 million cubic yards of sand to fortify the beaches and dune system in Bethany, South Bethany and Fenwick Island.
The beach replenishment projects will address the beaches and dunes that were damaged by a Nor’easter in October of 2015 and Winter Storm Joaquin in January of 2016.
The project, funded by the state and federal government, was slated to begin after the New Year.
In a Fenwick Island Town Council meeting last Friday, however, Mayor Gene Langan briefed residents on potential changes to the beach replenishment timeline.
In a letter sent to the mayors of Bethany, South Bethany and Fenwick Island, the Army Corps of Engineers informed local officials of probable changes to the schedule.
“Based on preliminary coordination with GLDD regarding scheduling the start of construction, it appears dredging and beachfill operations will not begin until the spring of 2018,” the letter reads. “Even with this start, it is expected that GLDD will complete the work within the 240-day period of performance. This 240-day period of performance will begin once the Notice to Proceed (NTP) is issued which is expected by the end of October 2017.”
While officials with the Army Corps of Engineers are hopeful the company could complete the project in 240 days, Langan expressed his displeasure.
“Unfortunately they have 240 days to complete the dredging, which will bring us, by my calculations, to the end of June,” he said. “One thing we really don’t want is this going on in the summer.”
The dredging company will also be responsible for the installation of new dune fencing and beach grass, according to Langan.
While the Army Corps of Engineers anticipates fencing to be installed prior to June of 2018, the agency has extended a portion of GLDD’s contract that would allow the company to plant dune grass through April of 2019.
“The dune grass can be planted between October and March,” the letter reads. “Planting the dune grass between April and September is not recommended, because the dune grass will most likely not survive. The dune grass portion of the contract was extended through April 2019, but we plan to have the grasses planted prior to that date. If construction is not completed until early summer of 2018, the USACE Philadelphia District would ask the contractor to plant the dune grass in October of 2018, which is the earliest month within the planting season.”
Langan vowed to keep residents informed of any further information, but noted the towns had little influence on the project’s timeline.
“We just hope that they get it done in time and get out …,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s a government project and our hands are tied. There is nothing we can do about it.”
Also on Wednesday, Langan informed the public of ongoing efforts to dredge the nearby Little Assawoman Bay.
In August, the town invited members of the community to attend a dredging workshop with Senator Gerald Hocker and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Administrator Tony Pratt in an effort to garner support for dredging the neighboring Little Assawoman Bay and to voice concerns about current safety conditions along its waterways.
In mid-October, Langan said the town received a letter from the DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship regarding Fenwick Island’s ongoing efforts to seek funding for a dredging project along the bay.
While the letter acknowledges that dredging a three-mile portion of the Little Assawoman Bay from South Bethany to the Route 54 bridge in Fenwick will be challenging, the Division of Watershed Stewardship conducted a bathymetric survey of waterways in the summer of 2016 to determine the severity of shoaling around Fenwick Island.
Langan said the town’s new Dredging Committee will reach out to DNREC to discuss those results.
“That is one of the first things the Dredging Committee will take up,” he said.
