Army Corps work on jetties moving ahead of schedule

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The Army Corps of Engineers has completed four jetties ahead of schedule as it moves forward with a $230 million coastal protection project that began in Long Beach in March.

Army Corps officials said that the jetties, or groins, at Edwards and Riverside boulevards were completed in early May, about a week ahead of schedule, while groins at New York Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard were finished early this month, weeks earlier than originally planned.

“The schedules fluctuate considerably based on a variety of factors, including traffic weather and the condition of the existing structure,” Project Manager Dan Falt explained. “While individual groins may be done faster or slower, the overall contract will still take approximately the same length of time.”

Work on the jetties is scheduled to be completed by next spring.

Hurricane Sandy decimated the city’s shoreline — the beach lost 294,000 cubic yards of sand — and officials contend that the $230 million project is crucial. It includes the rehabilitation of 17 existing groins and construction of four new ones, and the addition of roughly 4.7 million cubic yards of sand for a system of berms and dunes along 35,000 feet of shoreline.

The berm, dune and groin system is designed to protect seven of the nine miles of public shoreline between Jones Inlet and East Rockaway Inlet — from Point Lookout to Long Beach — from a 100-year storm. The project will taper off in East Atlantic Beach, because it does not include the Village of Atlantic Beach.

The Army Corps awarded a $38 million contract to H&L Construction last year to begin work on the groins in Point Lookout and then Long Beach. The contractor is currently working on the jetties at Arizona and Franklin boulevards, which are expected to be finished by early to mid-July, about a month earlier than originally scheduled, officials said.

The next pair of rock outcroppings set to be rehabilitated are at Tennessee and Lincoln boulevards, to be followed by those at Georgia and Monroe boulevards. Work areas at New York Avenue and Neptune Boulevard will be closed until the project is finished because they are being used as staging areas for the large stones.

City officials emphasized that all beaches will be open this summer and that there will be no work on weekends, though certain areas near the work sites will be closed during construction. Two groins will be under construction at a time and take about a month to complete, and sections of the beach will reopen as construction moves along, officials said.

Most groin work during the summer will be near the two staging areas to minimize the impact on the beach, according to Army Corps officials. A “haul road” will be used to reach the groins that are being worked on. Stone deliveries are scheduled for 7 a.m. and early afternoons on weekdays until Labor Day, and beach work will take place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Some residents who live near the construction sites have been vocal about their quality-of-life concerns, specifically noise, dust, machinery fumes and vibrations that can potentially damage buildings.

“We’re not against the construction. We know the jetties need to be done,” said Valerie Cammiso, a Long Beach resident who lives between Neptune and Franklin boulevards, adding that the noise and vibration remain an issue. “It’s more of the communication than anything else — the communication and planning is terrible. It shouldn’t be hard to let people know.”

John Mirando, the city’s commissioner of public works, said the agency has been receptive to residents’ concerns. “I’ve seen them hosing down the dust,” he said, adding that the agency applied for a permit to use fire hydrants to reduce dust after a public meeting held on April 20 at which residents complained about it.

Vibration monitors were installed at the staging areas at New York and Neptune this spring before construction began in Long Beach, to ensure that the vibration does not exceed general engineering standards and harm nearby buildings.

Six more monitors were recently installed in East Atlantic Beach, along the trucking route.

“The [Department of Environmental Conservation] and Army Corps personnel have gone into buildings while stones were being dumped and witnessed the vibrations,” Mirando said. “They’ve been on top of it.”

Reports on the work in Long Beach during March and April were reviewed by the agency, which found that none of the vibrations exceeded the standards, according to Falt. He added that reports from the six monitors installed in East Atlantic Beach are expected in early July.

To minimize noise complaints, Falt said, trucks that transport large stones from New Jersey will temporarily stage in Lido Beach or Point Lookout to avoid entering Long Beach before 7 a.m.

“I give a lot of credit to the contractor for making sure that the stones come in at reasonable times,” Mirando said.