Looking to fortify critical infrastructure along the coastline just north of the Indian River Inlet, the Delaware Department of Transportation has started installing hundreds of feet of sheet piles next to the northbound lanes of Route 1.

DelDOT began working on the project Nov. 11.

C.R. McLeod, DelDOT spokesperson, said the work to install the 650 feet of sheet piles is expected to take a month to complete. The project cost is $800,000, he said.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Control will also dredge 800,000 cubic yards of sand from shoals immediately inside the western portion of the inlet.

In an email Nov. 13, Michael Globetti, DNREC spokesperson, said the dredge company is mobilizing equipment and assembling gear for the repair project. Actual dredging will begin later this month, he said.

The projects are in response to two dune breaches, and a couple of close calls, since March. The breaches shut down the northbound lanes for hours. 

Following the breach in August, the state – $15 million – and federal government – $10 million – announced $25 million had been secured to pump up to 800,000 cubic yards of sand along a mile-long stretch of the beach north of the inlet.

DNREC had originally said it was going to pump 500,000 cubic yards of sand, but later adjusted the amount in an effort to make the shoreline look like it did in 2013, the last time a major dredging project took place in the area.

Beyond these two projects, a sand bypass system at the inlet is supposed to be operational by the end of the year. The bypass pumps sand from the south side of the inlet to the north side, but it has not been operational since before COVID due to issues surrounding a conversion from diesel to electric engines. The system will not operate during the nourishment project.

Looking to the future, DNREC is aiming to pump up to 100,000 cubic yards annually.