Second round of inlet’s beach replenishment has begun
For the second time in less than 10 months, the beach immediately north of the Indian River Inlet is receiving lots and lots of sand.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, began working Sept. 27, but shut down operations a couple of days later because of Hurricane Humberto and Tropical Storm Imelda, said Steve Rochette, Army Corps spokesperson, in an email Oct. 2. They are looking to start back up once the seas are calmer, he said.
The project calls for about 550,000 cubic yards of sand to be placed onto about 5,000 feet of the beach. The sand is coming from the ebb shoal of the inlet system, which is located about one mile offshore.
Earlier this year, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control oversaw the first phase of the project, which pumped about 380,000 cubic yards of sand onto the same stretch of beach.
The project is expected to take four to six weeks to complete. As work progresses, the contractor will close off about 1,000 feet of beach at a time during construction.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
