The Jersey shore will get over $30 million in federal funding for beach replenishment after Rep. Christopher Smith (R-Hamilton) drew down on a bi-partisan infrastructure bill approved by Congress last year.
The Army Corps of Engineers said on Wednesday that it would fund projects from the Manasquan Inlet to the Barnegat Inlet using funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Smith said a lack of federal funding but the project in peril.
“A significant portion of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that I voted for provides much-needed funds for coastal resilience to ensure we can continue to restore our shoreline and strengthen our beaches,” said Smith.
Smith said the funding, which will pay about half the project cost, “will go a long way to repair the significant erosion resulting from intense storms and address serious safety concerns.”
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair) announced that the Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to fund a $146.2 million flood mitigation project for the Peckman River Basin in Woodland Park and Little Falls.
“Our communities and families across Northern New Jersey have faced the dire, and sometimes deadly impact of devastating flooding in this region for far too long,” Sherrill said. “ACOE’s work will go an incredibly long way in ensuring that our region is safer and more resilient for decades to come, and with the announcement of full federal funding, this project will soon be a welcome benefit to our local communities that are already working overtime to address the fallout of these floods.”
The fight for funding of the Peckman River Basin project began in the previous decade, when Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) represented the area in Congress.
“It has been a long slog of nickel and diming studies to get to this point. We finally have the feasibility study complete and the project authorized. And thanks to the Democratic Congress and the Biden administration, we have a $146,188,000 investment needed to support a necessary flood management project in the Peckman River Basin,” he said. “I was proud to work alongside my colleague Representative Sherrill to secure these essential funds to protect North Jersey against future storms.”
