Crews replenishing beaches to protect homes in Ocean City
OCEAN CITY, NJ (CBS) -- On a foggy Thursday morning, there was a far cry from the summer rush on the beaches here.
But crews are already at work making sure things are ready for the busy season.
A beach replenishment project is underway here in Ocean City, one of the most popular destinations in the Garden State known for its eight miles of wide sandy beaches and iconic attractions.
It was even crowned 2022's "Best East Coast beach."
"The beach is everything," said Doug Bergen, Ocean City's public information officer. "That's why people come and really through recessions, through all the years, there's nothing getting in the way of your beach vacation."
But if you were to take a winter stroll through the sand now, you would see miles and miles of pipe, and a lot of construction vehicles.
"They're rebuilding our beaches. This is the 10th time they've done it since the early 1990's and it's really essential," Bergen said.
It's progress you can hear, as the sound of sand moving 15 feet per second rushes from the Great Egg Harbor Inlet to the shore. A total of 1.5 million cubic yards of sand will be moved to build up the beach.
"The beach is going to be replenished and built up to the designed elevation for protection of the properties behind us," said Bill Cosenza, quality control specialist with the Army Corps of Engineers.
The project is meant to protect coastal property by adding sand dunes to eroding beaches.
Pictures taken in previous storms show the devastation that comes when beaches aren't protected.
"In a storm, in Sandy for instance, where at both end of the island the dunes weren't as strong, it took a couple of hours in a big storm for the waves to hit the street," Bergen said.
The project is slated to be done in February but the difference is already noticeable to residents.
"I think without the beach replenishment we would be swimming," said Rick Trainer, who lives about a block away from the shore with his family.
He says this project makes a whale of a difference.
"When they're finished here, if it's like the last time they did it, we'll have 100 yards of beach out there," Trainer said. "The jetty will be covered with sand."
But for some it's not as simple as just rebuilding the beach.
"It's a little unnerving," said resident Kathy Huck. "You worry about climate change and how much longer we can be here, and how smart it is to have a house here, but yeah, it's great."
Once the Army Corps of Engineers is done with Ocean City, they'll head to Avalon and Stone Harbor to begin replenishing the beaches there.