Brick Seeking Bids for Beach Sand

Brick Township will request bids for installing beach sand on its ocean front beaches, for the purpose of temporary dunes and supporting a steel wall.

The beach replenishment project is separate from the Department of Environmental Protection project, said Brick Township Attorney Jean Cipriani.

"This is not the sand for the official replenishment that would be good for the federal project," she said.

Instead, this bidding process is for work to install temporary dunes, and for adding sand to support a steel wall, a revetment that will be installed along much of the state's coastline under the dunes to absorb the impact of storm surge flooding.

The intent of the project, said the borough engineer, is to add as much sand as possible before the steel revetment goes in.

The Township Council authorized the receipt of bids for 50,000 to 200,000 cubic yards of sand to be placed from Mantoloking to the end of Brick and Normandy Beach.  The volume of sand needed will depend upon the weather this winter to cover steel used in a revetment to protect against beach erosion. The vote was 5-0.

The sand is not an official replenishment and that means it might fall outside the scope of getting reimbursement, officials said at the Township Council meeting.  The $40 million revetment project, which aims to protect one of the hardest hit sections of the barrier island, is scheduled to start in January.

Council Vice President Susan Lydecker said the township should explore getting sand from Bay Head's Twilight Lake, which is being cleaned up after the October 2012 hurricane. This may be a cheaper option than facing the possibility of spending $1 million on sand, she said.

Reporting by Bill Borden and Catherine Galioto