New Jersey beefs up its iconic Jersey Shore boardwalks with $100M in repair or rebuilding funds

A wooden walkway next to Atlantic City casinos credited as being the first boardwalk in the United States and a similar coastal thoroughfare in the musical home of Bruce Springsteen are among Jersey Shore boardwalks that will share $100 million in repair and reconstruction funds.

New Jersey on Friday chose 18 Jersey Shore towns to share $100 million from a new program to fund repairs, reconstruction or expansions of boardwalks, the iconic wooden walkways over the sand that form the connective tissue of many popular seaside resort towns.

The money comes from federal COVID-19 recovery funds under the American Rescue Act and is designed to help local shore towns pay for what has been an expensive endeavor for many.

“So many of us have created memories with family and friends at the boardwalks of the Jersey Shore,” said Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat. “Our boardwalks have long been a prized destination, and we want to keep them that way by helping shore communities repair and maintain these wooden main streets.”

Jacquelyn Suarez, acting commissioner of the state Division of Community Affairs, said while boardwalks are a major economic engine for shore towns and the regions that include them, “they are also incredibly expensive for local governments to maintain, repair, and strengthen.”

Two of the state’s most famous boardwalks, located in Atlantic City and Asbury Park, will each get $20 million for their walkways.

The state and the city say Atlantic City’s Boardwalk was the first in the nation, built in 1870 to help keep seaside hotel guests from tracking sand into the buildings. And while he grew up in Freehold, New Jersey, rocker Bruce Springsteen is indelibly associated with Asbury Park, where he honed his musical style in local gigs on his way to stardom.

Other receiving funds are North Wildwood ($10.2 million); Wildwood ($8.27 million); Ventnor ($7.1 million); Cape May ($6.7 million); Ocean City and Seaside Heights (about $4.8 million each); Bradley Beach ($4.3 million); Long Branch ($3.2 million); Carteret ($2.4 million); Sea Isle City (just under $2 million); Belmar ($1.5 million); Brigantine (nearly $1.2 million); Wildwood Crest (nearly $1.1 million); Toms River (just over $1 million); Keyport ($800,000); and Berkeley Township ($448,000.)

Some of the money could be used as grants to businesses that need to make alterations to align themselves with the new boardwalks.