VIDEO: In Mantoloking, days are spent moving sand in preparation of major projects

In Mantoloking, the narrow Ocean County barrier island municipality where the devastating inlet formed during Superstorm Sandy, recovery is slow but ongoing, with the sound of heavy machinery filling the air each day.

Ed O’Malley, a local resident, realtor, and photographer, shot this video of crews moving sand on the Downer Avenue beach Thursday morning.

“It’s just another day in Mantoloking,” he said.

And in the tiny municipality south of Bay Head, where all of the homes suffered some sort of damage and more than half of the oceanfront homes were classified as damaged or destroyed, the days are spent rebuilding the protective dune system, according to Mantoloking Police Department Sgt. Stacy Ferris.

“This week we have placed a hundred thousand cubic yards of sand in preparation of the sheet metal project that is scheduled to start sometime in April, which will be complemented by the Army Corps [beach replenishment] project sometime thereafter,” Ferris said.

“The dune width needs to be at a minimum of 40 feet wide. Our three man public works team has been working tirelessly on placing the sand in the weakness areas. One of those area south of the Mantoloking Bridge, which was knocked down to only five feet wide after the recent storms, is now currently at an improved 35 feet width.”

Ferris said that the borough will continue to widen the entire length of the oceanfront.

But while there has been progress since Superstorm Sandy slammed the community in October 2012, the recovery mission is far from complete.

“We still have a long road ahead of us,” Ferris said.