Case Study: Sea Bright/Monmouth Beach Seawall Repair and Construction Project

Sea Bright & Monmouth Beach, Monmouth County

Opportunity/Challenges
In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, the downtown business district of Sea Bright and the beach pavilion in Monmouth Beach locally known as “Little Monmouth” were ravaged by storm surge, as these sections of the municipalities had no stone seawall prior to the storm. Furthermore, several sections of the existing seawall in these towns, built at various times throughout the previous century and of differing stone sizes and dimensions, were either overtopped or completely destroyed.

Partners
During the initial damage assessments, FEMA personnel were dispatched to assist the State and municipalities. For the State, DEP’s Office of Coastal Engineering (OCE) led the efforts to quantify the damage to the facility (the stone seawall), apply for FEMA Public Assistance in the form of a Project Worksheet (PW), and administer construction of the project. OCE partnered with the municipalities to utilize their engineering firm (T&M Associates) to design the project which OCE later bid out for construction and administered with the assistance of T&M for design support.

Action
OCE partnered with FEMA to obtain $35 million in funding to reconstruct seven sections of previously built seawall totaling nearly 3,000 linear feet (LF) and fill approximately 1,000 LF in gaps between downtown Sea Bright and Little Monmouth. In addition to seawall repair and construction, various stairs and ramps were constructed up and over the seawall to facilitate and improve public access and vehicle access to the beach.

Funding/Resources
OCE managed to secure 90% of the funding for this project through FEMA PA, with the remaining 10% to be reimbursed by HUD CDBG, making the project nearly 100% federally funded. (It should be noted that the normal cost share breakdown for FEMA PA funds is 75% federal/25% non-federal. However, in the case with Superstorm Sandy and the unprecedented devastation wrought by the storm, the federal government made the decision to increase the federal contribution to 90%). In addition to seawall repair work, during the course of construction the Borough of Sea Bright requested a finished concrete walkway and aluminum handrail be incorporated atop the newly reconstructed seawall in the downtown area to provide additional public access and scenic views of the beach. Since this fell outside FEMA’s approved scope of work, this was considered a betterment to the project and funded 100% by the municipality. All together the final construction cost for the project was $28.3 million.

Results and Benefits
The Sea Bright/Monmouth Beach Seawall Repair project was completed in May 2019, improving coastal resilience and creating a contiguous seawall throughout both municipalities. The project also improved public access by implementing more structurally sound seawall crossover structures and a pedestrian walkway. This project exemplifies how a “hard” shore protection structure can be implemented in a community while still maintaining adequate public access and overall character of the community. This was achieved through the leveraging of partners, funding sources, and resources available to us in New Jersey.