Note: the opening four paragraphs pertain mostly to the towns of Bethany, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island. (Provided by the Town of Bethany Beach.) Please scroll down to “How this affects Middlesex Beach” for information pertinent to us as a community.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Philadelphia District has announced the schedule for the much-needed repair of local beaches. This project, which costs $19,284,320 (note that this is not paid through MBA assessments), includes dune and beach repair to South Bethany and Fenwick Island and will restore 1,437,000 cubic yards of sand to those beaches. The work on this project will begin in Bethany Beach, move to South Bethany, and then to Fenwick Island. Work is scheduled to begin in downtown Bethany on May 15, 2018 and be completed in Fenwick Island by mid to late July. Construction is scheduled 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The work for the project involves dredging sand from approved offshore borrow areas. The sand is pumped through a series of pipes onto the respective beaches. The sand is then graded into a dune and/or berm template designed to reduce potential storm damages to infrastructure, businesses, and homes.
During construction, a 1000’ linear foot portion of beach will be closed. This 1000’ closure will be a “rolling” closure and move as the repair and replenishment work is completed. It is estimated that 200’ of beach will be repaired and restored every 24 hours.
The current contract involves pumping 659,000 cubic yards of sand onto Bethany Beach, 500,000 cubic years of sand onto South Bethany, and 278,000 cubic yards onto Fenwick Island.
How this affects Middlesex beach
Although we, as a beach, are not specifically receiving additional sand from this replenishment project, we typically benefit indirectly from the sand that is pumped onto the Bethany and South Bethany Beaches.
How are our properties being protected for potential future storms since Middlesex Beach is not directly receiving additional sand? Our Community Facilities Committee has been building up our dunes over the past several years, including this winter. We have installed many rolls of dune fencing along the beachfront which have worked exceptionally well. Additionally, we have constructed berms on both the north and south ends of our beach which have reduced potential damage to our main dunes in previous storms. These berms help to redirect water flow away from the main dune, and therefore, the oceanfront houses along Dune Road.
Disruptions to our beach: Although we have not received communication from the USACE, we assume we will most likely not be affected by the 1000′ rolling closure. We may, however, have smaller sections of the beach temporarily closed while they move the pipes south if the USACE chooses to do so across our beach. The current schedule estimates that Bethany’s replenishment will conclude on June 22, 2018. We are estimating that the work in South Bethany will commence sometime during the week of June 24, 2018, assuming there aren’t any delays. If we do receive any updates from the USACE, we will update this post.
Undoubtedly some will question the timing of this project. Unfortunately, neither the State of Delaware nor the affected communities have the ability to schedule these projects as they would like. Likewise, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers does not have the luxury of scheduling projects when it is best for the intended recipients. Instead, scheduling is driven by many factors outside of anyone’s control. A few of these factors include the timing of funding, obtaining necessary permitting, survey and plan development, and the availability of dredging companies (there are a limited number of companies capable of doing this work and they are in great demand).
This post was adapted from the February 26, 2018 announcement from the Town of Bethany Beach.