Eight-block stretch of Ocean City Boardwalk gets $4.2 million facelift

Ocean City residents Susan Gailey and Carol Bittner are out on the Boardwalk virtually every day for a three-mile, round-trip walk, even when the weather is bitterly cold.

“Except when it snows or is stormy, we’re pretty much out here every day,” Gailey said.

As familiar as they are with the Boardwalk, they discovered something new during their walk on Wednesday.

The Boardwalk itself is new.

After a flurry of construction during the winter months, the city has just completed a $4.2 million overhaul of the Boardwalk on an eight-block stretch from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street in the north end of town.

The project includes new wood decking for the surface of the Boardwalk, a new support foundation underneath it, new railings and new ramps.

The new decking consists of southern yellow pine, a wood known for its strength and density. The fresh wood was practically gleaming when Gailey and Bittner took their first steps on it at Fifth Street.

“I think it looks great. It looks very nice,” Gailey said.

“I’m pleased with it,” Bittner added.

Each year, countless people enjoy the Boardwalk, Ocean City’s most famous man-made attraction.

Mayor Jay Gillian said the importance of the Boardwalk to Ocean City’s tourists and local residents cannot be overstated.

“We’re a seashore resort. It’s our golden gem. It’s our Central Park,” he said of the Boardwalk’s role as a favorite gathering place.

Although he could only guess how many thousands and thousands of people visit the Boardwalk each year, Gillian believes that the number continues to grow as Ocean City continues to evolve into a year-round resort destination.

“People just love being on the Boardwalk. You stand on the Boardwalk and look out on the ocean, and it just doesn’t get any better than that,” he said.

    Mayor Jay Gillian emphasizes the importance of keeping the Boardwalk in tip-top shape for the tourists and local residents.
  

The Boardwalk’s reconstruction between St. Charles Place and Fifth Street is the first phase of a more extensive overhaul that will be done this year at a total cost of about $7 million.

Ocean City is using a $4.9 million grant from the state’s Boardwalk Preservation Fund to pay for most of the project, saving local taxpayers millions of dollars, Gillian said.

With its array of retail shops, amusements, restaurants and other amenities, the Boardwalk is the most heavily visited attraction in town and a centerpiece of the tourism industry.

“It’s safe and clean. That is our motto here in Ocean City. We take care of our infrastructure. We want to make sure the experience is the best it can possibly be,” Gillian emphasized about keeping the Boardwalk in top shape.

The myriad walkers, runners and bikers who traverse the boards each year inevitably add to the wear and tear – requiring the city to keep pace with the Boardwalk’s reconstruction.

The seashore’s whipping winds, salt water and beach sand also take a toll on the structure. So, it comes as no surprise that the old wood planks of the Boardwalk must be replaced with new timber from time to time to accommodate the huge flow of foot and bike traffic along the 2.5-mile oceanfront promenade.

    In the next phase of work, new wood decking is being installed between 12th and 14th streets.
  

With the reconstruction of the Boardwalk from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street now finished, the work has shifted to the second phase between 12th Street and 14th Street.

An army of construction workers and machinery with the city’s Boardwalk contractor, L. Feriozzi Concrete Co., has taken over between 12th and 14th streets. The busy construction zone is punctuated by the din of whirling buzz saws and pounding hammers.

A fence separates the work from a portion of the Boardwalk that remains open and allows walkers and bikers to safely pass by the construction.

Construction work between 12th and 14th streets is scheduled to be completed before Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer tourism season.

Next, the Boardwalk’s reconstruction will move between 14th and 16th streets. That part of the project will be done after the summer season.

Ten years ago, the city completed the Boardwalk’s multiphase reconstruction stretching from Fifth Street to 12th Street at a cost of more than $10 million.

When those improvements are combined with the areas the city is reconstructing now, the overall condition of the Boardwalk is practically brand new all the way from St. Charles Place to 14th Street, Gillian pointed out.

    Construction workers secure the new wood decking.
  

    A section of the Boardwalk near St. Charles Place shows the new decking compared to the old.
  

    A "Boardwalk Closed" sign is posted on a construction fence that seals off the work zone.
  

    New wood decking made of southern yellow pine is revitalizing the Boardwalk.
  

    The Boardwalk is also popular with bicyclists.