The Closed Paths at 18th Street Are Next in Line for Sand

On Avalon's north end, two different groups are closing beach paths this month for two different reasons. The paths look the same from Dune Drive, but they will reopen on different schedules. As of the Borough's October 2 update, Norfolk Dredging had closed the 15th through 17th Street paths for active work. The Avalon Department of Public Works had separately closed 18th through 23rd Streets because of what it called severe erosion from the late-September nor'easter. Those storm-closed blocks are also the ones the dredge reaches next. The Borough says plainly that those beaches will get new sand as part of the project now underway.

So the north-end beach many residents walked over the weekend of September 26 has not been lost for the season. It is in a queue. NJ.com reported on September 28 that Avalon had closed the entrances between 18th and 21st Streets and that those beaches were expected to get sand once the Army Corps work resumed that week. The dredge did resume, on Monday, September 28, at 6 p.m.

Two Kinds of Closed Sign

The project is federal, and the distinction between closures comes from how it works. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Philadelphia District awarded Norfolk Dredging Company a $15.8 million contract for the joint Townsends Inlet to Cape May Inlet nourishment. NJDEP, Avalon, and Stone Harbor are partners. The Borough says the Avalon share is paid entirely with federal emergency funding, with no local cost share. It describes the project as a response to repeated coastal storms that began in August 2025 and continued through the winter.

A contractor closure means the pipe is pumping sand onto that block right now. A Public Works closure means the Borough decided the path was unsafe after the storm. Here is how the north end stood on the morning of October 2, when Business Administrator Scott J. Wahl photographed the work from the 14th Street beach, with the dredge "Delaware" visible out in Townsend's Inlet.

The September 20 entry confirmed that every beach north of 14th Street had been filled before the work turned south. The 24th to 26th Street paths had been closed briefly after the storm while Public Works made them safe with its equipment. They reopened on September 28.

How the Work Zone Moves

The fill moves down the beach in sections. The Borough's operating notes describe about 1,000 feet of beach closed around the active fill area. Everything else stays open, and finished blocks reopen behind the pipe as it advances. The work runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and stops only for storms or mechanical failure.

The sequence started at 14th Street. That is where the submerged pipeline came ashore and where Norfolk built a working pad of sand. The fill went north to 9th Street, the pipe was pulled back, and the work then started south from 14th. The sand comes from the approved borrow area in Townsend's Inlet.

The Corps' contract calls for 941,032 cubic yards of sand in Avalon. By October 2, 663,003 cubic yards had been placed. That leaves roughly 278,000 cubic yards, a little under a third of the total. The daily pace varies a lot. Norfolk reported 48,000 cubic yards in the 24 hours before September 30, and 10,359 in the 24 hours before October 1.

That range explains why the finish date is a target and not a promise. The Borough's October 1 update said the project "may finish in Avalon on or about October 12th," barring bad weather or mechanical issues. The weather caveat has already mattered once. On September 20 the work was suspended because rough seas were expected from northeast winds. The dredge sheltered in Great Egg Harbor, and the Corps had to resurvey before pumping resumed. The schedule has also moved earlier over the summer. A July 27 Borough update had projected Avalon's completion around November 14. Faster production on Norfolk's earlier Strathmere job let the dredge come to Avalon sooner.

The plans give two end points. The Corps' contract defines Avalon's fill area as 9th to 28th Streets. The Borough's field updates say the dredge will continue south until about 25th Street.

Walking the North End This Week

The moving zone makes a walk easy to plan if you check the day's status first.

1. Check the Borough's update page before you go. Avalon posts progress on the front page of avalonboro.net and on its running project page. The newest entry on October 4 was still the one dated October 2.
2. Use the path behind the dunes. Earlier in the project, the Borough kept the walking path behind the dunes open so beachgoers could walk a block or two north or south to an open entrance.
3. Expect the 20th Street path to change. The Borough set 20th Street up as a split path, half for equipment and emergency vehicles and half for pedestrians. It said that path would close again only when the fill reached 20th Street. With the work now south of 15th Street, that time is close.
4. Stay off the pipe and away from the trucks. The Borough has asked repeatedly that children be kept away from the dredge pipe and heavy equipment on the beach.
5. Do not swim. Lifeguards are off duty for the season.

For a walk without any detour, the south end is open. The Arts & Seafood Festival runs Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Surfside Park, with seafood, craft vendors, live entertainment, and beach hayrides. If the October 12 target holds, the dredge would still be working the north end that weekend.

What the New Sand Still Needs

Once the dredge leaves, the beach will have sand but not dunes. The Borough says the project includes rebuilding dunes, along with crossovers, fencing, and dune grass planting, all paid for by the federal government. The contract options cover dune crossovers, post-and-rail fencing, and grass. None of the updates so far gives a date for that finishing work, so the north-end paths may look unfinished for a while after the pumping stops.

The dredge will not go far when it leaves. The joint contract moves on to Stone Harbor next. There the Corps has scoped 538,867 cubic yards, mostly for 98th to 114th Streets and from 120th Street to the terminal groin. Avalon's July update named Hereford Inlet as the sand source for that work. The Borough has not posted a start date for Stone Harbor.

Two volunteer events fall on the same Saturday, two weeks after the target finish. The annual Fall Dune Grass Planting is Saturday, October 24. Volunteers meet at 8:30 a.m. at Avalon Community Hall, 3001 Avalon Avenue, for a short planting demonstration and then head to the beach. The rain date is October 25. Later that morning, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Clean Ocean Action runs its Fall Beach Sweep from the 30th Street Boardwalk with the Boroughs of Avalon and Stone Harbor. Bring gloves and dress for the weather. Trash bags and pickers are provided.

The planting is a long-running community event, separate from the federal contract's grass work. The listing does not say which blocks volunteers will plant this year. For anyone who walked past the closed paths at 18th Street this month, Community Hall at 8:30 a.m. on the 24th is the next chance to work on the north-end beach.

New sand changes how a stretch of beach is used, and the finishing work on dunes and crossovers is the part that lasts. If you own property near the north end and want to understand how this fall's work could affect your block, Marialena Recupero brings four decades of construction experience to questions like that. Let's Connect.