N.J. to dredge 3 Shore channels

Three Jersey Shore channels will soon become safer and more efficient to navigate, officials say.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation announced dredging projects for specific areas within the Absecon Inlet in Atlantic County and the Hereford Inlet and Cape May Harbor in Cape May County.

The projects are part of a $1.6 million initiative to improve state channels that were impacted by Winter Storm Jonas in January 2016.

The state had already restored the Saint George’s Thorofare in Brigantine, Beach Creek Channel in North Wildwood, and Spicers Creek Channel in Cape May Harbor to navigable depths after Superstorm Sandy only to be severely re-shoaled by Jonas.

Shoals are defined as a “characteristically long and narrow (linear) and develop where a stream, river, or ocean current promotes deposition of sediment and granular material, resulting in localized shallowing (shoaling) of the water,” according to Wikipedia.

The around the clock dredging process will deepen the channels, resulting in safer navigation.

Work has already begun in Saint George’s Channel and will conclude this month. Dredging in the Beach Creek will begin in mid-October and last through early November. And in Spicers Creek, work should begin in November and continue through December.

Officials say mariners should exercise caution near pipelines, buoys, and dredging equipment.

In 2014, the state announced the commencement of the multi-year, multi-million dollar channel dredging program, with the mission to return New Jersey’s waterways affected by Superstorm Sandy to a state of good repair.