By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City is preparing for the next phase of a major reconstruction of Central Avenue as part of its strategy to rebuild roads, replace aging infrastructure and help protect low-lying neighborhoods from chronic flooding.
During its meeting Tuesday, City Council is expected to authorize the advertisement of bids for Central’s reconstruction from John F. Kennedy Boulevard to 36th Street. The project will also include the reconstruction of 40th Street between Central and Landis Avenue, according to the Council agenda.
The cost of the project will be known once the bids are received and the contract is formally awarded. The project is expected to be partially funded by a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
City officials have not yet announced the timetable for the work, but traditionally road construction and drainage projects are done during the quiet off-season months to prevent traffic disruptions during the peak summer tourism season.
As one of the city’s main arteries, Central has been the focus of a series of projects in recent years that are designed to replace old water and sewer systems and help alleviate flooding in surrounding neighborhoods.
In the fall of 2021, the city repaved a stretch of Central Avenue from 69th Street to 84th Street under a nearly $500,000 contract.
Last March, the city awarded a $773,800 contract for Central’s reconstruction from 56th Street to 69th Street. Work is scheduled to begin in the fall on the portion of Central between 56th and 69th streets.
The next major phase of Central’s reconstruction, between JFK Boulevard and 36th Street, will extend the project toward the north end of town through some of the flood-prone neighborhoods.
During another road project in 2022, the city built rock walls along Central Avenue from 29th Street to 38th Street to prevent floodwater from seeping in from the marshlands.
The waist-high rock walls, also known as berms, act as the first line of defense against flooding that comes from both the bay and the marshlands surrounding Sea Isle’s residential neighborhoods.
Although they are decidedly low tech, rock walls are combined with other measures such as stormwater pumping stations to help ease flooding in Sea Isle and other beach communities at the Jersey Shore.
Sea Isle built its first stormwater pumping station in 2019 at the bay end of 38th Street at Sounds Avenue to protect surrounding homes. Rock walls were built along both sides of 38th Street as an extra precaution against floodwater surging out of the marshlands and bay.
