Approximately 300 truckloads of sand delivered to Ortley Beach, officials say

Crews have delivered hundreds of truck loads of sand to the narrow beach in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River since last weekend in an ongoing effort to protect the community from future coastal surges, township officials announced. 

Earle Asphalt dumped the sand between the Lord House and the Golden Gull.

“Roughly 300 loads of sand were brought in yesterday and over the weekend to build a barrier and reshape the dunes in that area,” a posting on the township’s Facebook page said. “The rest of the beaches are in good condition.”

Last October, the township spent $800,000 on sand deliveries prior to and during a major coastal storm. The figure included employee overtime and payment for about 300 truckloads of sand that were placed on the beach to hold back the surging tides.

The township tapped a $1 million line of credit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to pay for the sand, which crews used to create a berm that successfully held back the surge. 

Nearly all of the protective sand berm washed away during the blizzard earlier this year. The township estimated that it would cost an additional $1.7 million to replace sand in its Ortley Beach section and other barrier island communities, of which $750,000 would be offset with a state grant. 

Council members and residents have called on the state and the Army Corps of Engineers to move quickly toward obtaining easements necessary for a federal beach replenishment project.

Township officials previously said the ongoing costs and efforts could have been avoided had the easements from beachfront property owners been in place.

Ortley Beach was devastated by Superstorm Sandy’s tidal surge.