Sea Isle's Beaches "Fared Well" Over Winter

Blustery winds and temperatures that were stubbornly stuck in the mid-40s on Tuesday made it seem like a late winter day at the shore, not early spring.

Yet in Sea Isle City, workers were smoothing out the beach pathways and installing new fencing to prepare for a monumental event at the shore in just 45 days – the arrival of Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer tourism season.

“Our beaches fared well over the winter, and with 45 days to go until Memorial Day weekend, we’ll be ready to welcome all of our visitors,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said in a report to City Council.

Previously, sections of Sea Isle’s beaches and dunes have been severely eroded by winter’s coastal storms. The waves literally washed away huge amounts of sand. In some cases, the beaches were stripped of the top layer of powdery sand and the dunes were sheared away to create steep, cliff-like edges.

But last year, a total of 932,000 cubic yards of new sand was added to the shoreline from 73rd Street to 94th Street in the south end of the island and from 29th Street to 53rd Street in the central part of town. The fresh sand widened the beaches and restored the dunes.

City Business Administrator George Savastano said there was no significant damage to the beaches or dunes over the winter. Overall, he characterized the condition of the beaches as “pretty good.”

This year, city work crews got an early jump on restoring the beach pathways because “there’s always a lot of grooming that needs to be done” in preparation for the summer season, Savastano said in an interview after Tuesday’s Council meeting.

“We’ve made sure that we’re prepared for the summer complement of seasonals, because one of the challenges is not just getting them ready, but maintaining them through the season,” Savastano said of keeping the beach pathways in good shape for the summer tourists.

As part of the overall preparations for Memorial Day weekend, crews from the city’s Public Works Department were using earthmovers Tuesday to smooth out the beach pathway at 82nd Street.

In addition, new fencing has been installed in the south end of the island to protect the dunes.

The sand dunes form a natural barrier to protect the shoreline against coastal storms, acting as a massive wall to block the raging surf from damaging or destroying homes and businesses.

But the dunes need some protection, too.

Recognizing that fact, Sea Isle has been installing new fencing around the dunes in the south end of the island to help keep them in good shape.

    New fencing has been installed at 88th Street and other parts of the beachfront in the south end of Sea Isle to protect the dunes and newly planted dune grass.
  

The fencing will also protect the newly planted dune grass that fortifies the dunes and allows them to become stronger as they mature during their natural growth cycle.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planted dune grass as the last part of the beach replenishment project in 2024 that restored Sea Isle’s storm-eroded shoreline with fresh sand.

Heading into Memorial Day weekend, work crews will also install the ever-popular beach mats along the pathways.

Savastano said Sea Isle will likely install the so-called mobi mats along most of the island, generally from 29th Street to 93rd Street, for the summer season.

The plastic mats lie on top of the sand, providing an easier transition from the gravel pathways over the dunes to the beaches.

Seniors, small children, people with disabilities and families lugging strollers to the beach are helped by the mats. Every summer, local residents and visitors urge the city to install more mats to make their treks across the sand even smoother.

    Beach mats make it easier to cross over the deep sand.