Sea Isle City's Promenade is popular with pedestrians and bicyclists.
Sea Isle City has awarded a $1.3 million construction contract to make the Promenade both more inviting and accessible to the big crowds that enjoy the oceanfront walkway each year.
The project will include a significant amount of structural repairs and improvements to maintain the viability of the Promenade “for decades to come,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.
As part of the construction contract, several areas of the Promenade’s bulkhead will be rebuilt, access will be improved at several points and two new handicap-accessible ramps will be added at 32nd Street and 40th Street.
“Our Promenade gets tremendous use, even in the winter,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said. “It’s a very important part of our outdoor facilities. We’re happy to make this happen. It will be money well-spent.”
City Council awarded the $1.3 million construction contract at its meeting Tuesday to the low bidder, Channel Marine Construction Inc., of Clermont, N.J.
The Promenade stretches for 1½ miles from 29th Street to 57th Street. The family-friendly walkway effectively serves as Sea Isle’s boardwalk – a hub for sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, recreation and special events.
Two new handicap-accessible ramps like this one at 53rd Street will be built to connect the Promenade at 32nd Street and 40th Street. In recent years, the city has been livening up the Promenade with new decorative lighting, new benches and a new public address system, among other improvements.
Sea Isle built new handicap-accessible ramps at 51st Street and 53rd Street last year to make it easier for pedestrians and bicyclists to get on the Promenade. The ramps replaced steep steps that were challenging to climb for seniors, people with disabilities and families with young children.
The next round of improvements involving the Promenade’s structure, bulkheads and handicap-accessible ramps will be largely funded by a nearly $2 million grant from the state’s Boardwalk Preservation Fund.
Gov. Phil Murphy announced in 2024 that Sea Isle was one of 18 towns at the Jersey Shore to share in a pool of $100 million from the Boardwalk Preservation Fund. The fund helps to repair and maintain boardwalks and promenades along the coast.
Sea Isle’s asphalt and concrete Promenade replaced the town’s old wooden boardwalk after it was reduced to rubble by the colossal Ash Wednesday storm that pummeled the Jersey Shore in 1962. Some of the old-timers in town still refer to the Promenade as “the boardwalk.”
Initially, the state’s Boardwalk Preservation Fund included money for only wooden boardwalks, but state Sen. Michael Testa was able to amend it to add promenades like Sea Isle’s. Testa’s First Legislative District includes the shore towns of Cape May County.
Shoppers gather on the Promenade each June for the Skimmer Festival, Sea Isle's signature summer event.
