Jersey Shore Working To Get Beaches Back To Normal Following Nor'easter
VENTNOR, N.J. (CBS) -- With the Nor'easter in the rearview mirror, communities along the Jersey Shore are getting a better look at the beach erosion left behind by the storm.
In some communities, towering cliffs of sand have taken over the beach, as shore towns are already working to get the beaches back to normal.
CBS 3's Cleve Bryan reports many shore towns had to close off some of their dune access points.
What were round mounds are now collapsing cliffs after Ventnor's dune system took a hit this week from the storm.
"You can see that we had about 5 or 6 feet of that elevation cut out by the recent storm," said Ventnor City Commissioner Lance Landgraf. "It's not a huge damage to our dune system, but the system did its job."
From North Wildwood where the drop-off is taller than a basketball rim, to Ortley Beach where beach walkways now look like skyways, storm surge and forceful wave action caused widespread beach erosion at the Jersey Shore.
Bulldozers were busy during low tide in Atlantic City. The beach in front of the former Revel went from bad to worse and near the Steel Pier, the handicap ramp almost fell over.
"We probably had half of what we had from Jonas there and if you look at all the dunes they were just all carved out and scaled even more deep into the dune system," said Angelo DeMaio, director of emergency management for Atlantic City.
The good news for Atlantic City and Ventnor is that a nearly $70 million beach replenishment project that goes from A.C. all the way to Longport is funded and expected to start within months.
Officials say they don't know when the beach replenishment will begin, but when it's done, there will be 13- to 15-foot high dunes.