The sand is finally moving again on Ocean City’s beaches — here’s the update

Back in October, after a nor'easter tore into our beaches and federal funding hung in limbo, I asked a simple question in this space: will Congress bail us out?

The answer, at least for Ocean City, is yes.

The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $19.5 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company to rebuild Ocean City's north-end beaches, pumping 1.6 million cubic yards of sand onto the shoreline between the terminal groin near Seaview Road and 12th Street. This marks the 11th renourishment project on Ocean City's north end since the city's 50-year partnership with the Army Corps began back in the early 1990s.

Where the work stands right now

As of this week, sand-pumping operations are approaching Sixth Street. You can catch a live glimpse of the work from the 7th Street Surf Shop beach cam. The beach entrances at Brighton Place and Fifth Street are currently closed while work continues. The newly rebuilt sections at Park Place and just north of Brighton Place are already open, with lifeguarded swimming areas back in operation. A portion of the guarded surfing area at 7th Street and the swimming area at 8th Street are open as well, though officials note 7th Street may close again as the work keeps moving.

The project is proceeding in stages. Crews are working south toward 12th Street first. Once that stretch is complete, the operation shifts north toward the Great Egg Harbor Inlet. At any given time, roughly 1,000 feet of beach, about two city blocks, will be closed to the public directly around the active work zone. The pumping runs 24 hours a day for the duration of the project, and sand ramps get built over the pipeline at every beach entrance as the work moves down the coast.

SEE ALSO: Nor'easter gut punches NJ beaches — will congress bail us out?

Why this matters beyond Ocean City

I wrote in October about what happens to barrier islands without this kind of intervention. I remember a stretch of years when parts of Ocean City's beach sat just a few feet from the boardwalk. I remember the year Strathmere's beach eroded down to a muddy bottom. These are not abstract concerns. They are the difference between a beach town that functions and one that cannot.

New Jersey's tourism industry brought in a record $50.6 billion in 2024, and a meaningful share of that runs directly through beaches like this one. Avalon's business administrator put it plainly to CBS News last fall: the beaches are the economic engine for the southern Shore, and without them, there is no economy. That reasoning applies just as directly here.

This contract is real, funded, and actively underway, which is more certainty than we had in October. Whether the rest of the state's planned 2026 projects get the same treatment remains an open question, but for Ocean City, at least, the sand is already moving.

If you are headed down for a beach day this week, check ocnj.us before you go. Entrance closures are shifting block by block as the work progresses, and the city is updating its site regularly.