City of Cape May Awarded $7.6 Million for Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project

CAPE MAY, N.J. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded $7.6 million to complete recurring nourishment of the Cape May Inlet to the Lower Township (Cape May City) Coastal Storm Risk Management project. This project is made possible by the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Located on the New Jersey Atlantic Coast, the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township beach fill project ranges from the southwest jetty of Cape May Inlet to 3rd Avenue in Cape May City. This site includes the communities of the City of Cape May and Lower Township, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District.

The new project calls for dredging approximately 240,000 cubic yards of sand from a borrow area nearly 2.6 miles south of the Cape May Inlet jetties to be pumped onto the beach at two locations. The sand is then added into the engineered template, which was designed to reduce damage from coastal storm events that South Jersey has faced.

“This award is essential for our coastal economy and communities in South Jersey,” Congressman Jeff Van Drew said in a press release. “Prevention and protection is key to their success. Along with this inlet project, I’ve also supported several resiliency projects throughout some of our most vulnerable coastal communities including Avalon, Atlantic City, Stone Harbor, Sea Isle City, Strathmere, and Ocean City. There is so much work that still needs to be done, and the Cape May Inlet to Lower Township beach fill project is a wonderful addition to that.”

South Jersey’s coastal tourism industry is one of the largest in the country, and this renourishment contract could be essential in boosting the coastal economy. The South Jersey community has, in many ways, struggled to rebuild since Hurricane Sandy, and coastal protection projects like this one will be key in helping the community continue to rebuild.

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