Jersey Shore town considers building mile-long steel wall as storm protection

A Jersey Shore town that was hard hit by Superstorm Sandy is considering building a mile-long wall to protect it from future storms.

Seaside Heights has a new boardwalk after Sandy ripped up the old one and tossed some amusement rides into the ocean. A section of it was charred by this summer’s fire, which devastated the boardwalk in a neighboring town.

The wall made of steel sheeting would provide protection until a dune system planned by the Army Corps of Engineers becomes effective, said borough administrator John Camera.

“It’s not at its best protection until years of plant growth in the root systems of dune grass growing within the dune,” he said. “When it’s just sand that will initially be pumped there, if there was another storm like Superstorm Sandy, it would most likely wash most of that dune right away.”

Camera says the wall construction would cost about $3 million. He’s hopeful there will be federal funding for the project so construction could be completed before the start of the summer tourism season.