Inlet’s north beach replenishment project nears completion
Despite some weather-related delays, the replenishment project for the beach immediately north of the Indian River Inlet is expected to wrap up in a little more than a week.
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. Mobilization for the project began in late September.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company is the contractor doing the work for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Army Corps officials typically provide updates, but are limited in what they can do right now because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Bill Hanson, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company senior vice president of market development, was able to provide an update. As of Nov. 5, he said, about 350,000 cubic yards of material have been placed onto the beach.
Offshore dredging is challenging even during the best of times, said Hanson. This particular fall storm season has been especially active, and weather has caused some delays to the operation, he said.
High winds and rough seas have led to a few work stoppages, but the project is back on track, said Hanson. Great Lakes is utilizing its cutter suction dredge Illinois for this project, which has a long track record of success on coastal projects on the East Coast, he said.
“There have been a number of storms since the project’s inception,” said Hanson in an email Nov. 5. “Each one has caused a delay to the operation, but we are on schedule to finish the beach within the next 10 days.”
This is the second replenishment project for this section of state-maintained beach in the last calendar year. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control oversaw the first phase of the project, which pumped about 480,000 cubic yards of sand onto the same stretch of beach. The sand for the project came from a shoal on the south side of the Indian River Inlet.
The two replenishment projects, and the installation of 650 feet of sheet piles by the state along northbound Route 1, were in response to two dune breaches, and a couple of close calls, that took place in 2024. The breaches shut down the northbound lanes for hours.
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.
