Restored stretch of Shore beach praised from sea to shining sea
LONG BRANCH — The rebuilt beach stretching from Sea Bright to Manasquan Inlet is among the top restored strands in America, beach advocates said Monday as heavy surf pounded the city's sands.
"It's one of the things that makes New Jersey a good coastal state — the beach," said Robert Killeen of Red Bank, a 77-year-old retiree who was walking along the city's promenade after a news conference.
"Overall, it's a great asset" to the state, Killeen said.
The estimated $210 million beach replenishment project, which began in 1994, has covered 18 of the 21 miles south of Sandy Hook through Manasquan, according to Army Corps of Engineers officials.
And the beaches have lasted longer than initial expectations.
Leaders of the nonprofit Jersey Shore Partnership, along with federal, state, county and city officials, gathered on the city's promenade to talk about the award from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.
Other award-winning restored beaches this year include: Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland; Captiva Island, Florida; Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama; Pinellas County beaches, Florida; and Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach beaches, Delaware, according to the association.
This is the fifth year the group has handed out Top Restored Beach Awards.
And the Sea Bright to Manasquan Inlet project is the largest restored beach in the nation, the association said.
But some of the replenished beaches, including areas in Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Spring Lake and Sea Girt, need to be renourished, and federal funding is limited, according to Anthony Ciorra, chief of the corps' New York District civils works project branch.
Long Branch "almost certainly" will get a new infusion of sand with the $3 million in federal funding available for the Monmouth County project this year, Ciorra said.
The restored beach has had "a huge impact on the city socially and economically," Mayor Adam Schneider said.
Ciorra said the proposed fiscal 2007 federal budget contains no funding for the Monmouth County project at the moment.
BY TODD B. BATES
"It's one of the things that makes New Jersey a good coastal state — the beach," said Robert Killeen of Red Bank, a 77-year-old retiree who was walking along the city's promenade after a news conference.
"Overall, it's a great asset" to the state, Killeen said.
The estimated $210 million beach replenishment project, which began in 1994, has covered 18 of the 21 miles south of Sandy Hook through Manasquan, according to Army Corps of Engineers officials.
And the beaches have lasted longer than initial expectations.
Leaders of the nonprofit Jersey Shore Partnership, along with federal, state, county and city officials, gathered on the city's promenade to talk about the award from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.
Other award-winning restored beaches this year include: Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland; Captiva Island, Florida; Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama; Pinellas County beaches, Florida; and Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach beaches, Delaware, according to the association.
This is the fifth year the group has handed out Top Restored Beach Awards.
And the Sea Bright to Manasquan Inlet project is the largest restored beach in the nation, the association said.
But some of the replenished beaches, including areas in Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Spring Lake and Sea Girt, need to be renourished, and federal funding is limited, according to Anthony Ciorra, chief of the corps' New York District civils works project branch.
Long Branch "almost certainly" will get a new infusion of sand with the $3 million in federal funding available for the Monmouth County project this year, Ciorra said.
The restored beach has had "a huge impact on the city socially and economically," Mayor Adam Schneider said.
Ciorra said the proposed fiscal 2007 federal budget contains no funding for the Monmouth County project at the moment.
BY TODD B. BATES
