More sand coming to Indian River Inlet’s north side

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District has awarded an $8.1 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company for dredging and beachfill along the north shore of the Indian River Inlet. 

The contract calls for dredging about 550,000 cubic yards of sand from the ebb shoal about one mile offshore and placing the sand onto about 5,000 feet of beach north of the inlet. Work is designed to reduce the risk of coastal storm damages to infrastructure, including Route 1 and the Indian River Inlet bridge.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company will close portions of the beach during construction, which is expected to begin this fall and last four to six weeks.

The contract is the second phase of a joint approach between the Army Corps and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to manage coastal storm risk in the area. DNREC managed a dredging and beachfill contract that was completed in March in the same area.

Further, DNREC has reestablished operations at the inlet’s sand bypass plant after working to repair the system in recent years. The sand bypass plant is a joint project between Army Corps and DNREC that is designed to move about 100,000 cubic yards of sand annually from the south shore to the north shore to replicate sand transport that is disrupted by the inlet jetties.

The Army Corps is also working to design a maintenance repair of the north jetty at the inlet under a separate contract. The Army Corps plans to award a contract for this work in December, with mobilization anticipated in spring 2026.