April 08, 2026
Sarah Frank/for PhillyVoice
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will spend $99 million on beach replenishment projects in Ocean City, Sea Isle City, Avalon, Stone Harbor and Strathmere. Above, a view of the Ocean City shoreline in March.
Shore communities in South Jersey will get $99 million from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete beachfill and dune projects, officials said Tuesday, addressing months of uncertainty about efforts to replenish eroded sections of the coast.
The funding will support projects in Cape May County over the coming months. Parts of Ocean City, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Sea Isle City and Strathmere will be bolstered with sand pumped in from offshore and surrounding inlets. Repeated coastal storms have left beaches depleted heading into the busy summer season.
"This is a huge investment for our shoreline, one of the largest we have ever seen, and it is going to make a real difference," U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R) said in a statement. "Our beaches are so important to South Jersey, and this level of investment means stronger protection, more stability, and peace of mind for our shore communities."
The Army Corps' Philadelphia office will partner with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to complete the projects.
"The timing for construction start will depend on bids and dredging equipment availability," Army Corps spokesperson Stephen Rochette said Wednesday.
The Great Egg Harbor and Peck Beach on the north end of Ocean City will receive $25 million for replenishment. Another $28 million will support areas from the Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Townsends Inlet at the sound end of Ocean City and in Strathmere and Sea Isle City. An additional $46 million from the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act will go toward dune and beachfill projects from the Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet in Avalon and Stone Harbor.
Several shore communities in Cape May County have had to come up with contingency plans to address erosion in recent months. Ocean City completed some repairs by backpassing offshore sand to areas in need. Erosion has been so severe in Strathmere that Upper Township officials said they will demolish the beach's lifeguard headquarters, which has been in danger of collapsing.
The federal funding notably does not include money for North Wildwood, whose beaches are among the most endangered in the state. Plans to replenish the coastline in North Wildwood have been ensnared in legal battles for several years, A plan to take sand from Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach for a series of protective dunes along the full stretch of Five Mile Island unraveled in the fall when the communities failed to reach a final agreement before a project deadline.
North Wildwood filed a lawsuit against NJDEP seeking $54 million after the Army Corps terminated the project in November. Leaders in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest had pushed back against the plan, arguing the work would shrink their own beaches and negatively impact tourism.
Rochette said Wednesday the Army Corps is working on a study to evaluate alternate sources of sand for North Wildwood, including the possibility of getting it from the Hereford Inlet. The study also is considering alterations to dune and berm features that were chosen for the scrapped projects.
"We’ve been meeting with all the municipalities to share information on this study," Rochette said.
The study is not expected to be finished before September 2027.
Van Drew, who's up for reelection this year, said he's requested another $70 million for beach replenishment projects in Long Beach Island and Absecon Island, whose shore points include Atlantic City, Margate, Ventnor and Longport. In the long term, Van Drew said he will continue to push for more consistent solutions like the Coastal Trust Fund Act, which would draw from oil and gas revenues to support coastal restoration.
