Boardwalk work has begun, closings to be minimized

By Neil Schulman
Long Branch — Construction work has started on the new boardwalk, and city officials are working to minimize the inconvenience and keep the public informed as to which beaches will be closed when.

Construction on the Long Branch boardwalk has begun in West End.

Long Branch officials discussed the steps that would be taken at the May 26 Borough Council meeting, where they also announced that due to safety concerns they would be making the Takanassee Beach a paid beach this year, to offset the costs for lifeguards.
Stanley Dziuba, Coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management, reported that  George Harms Construction Co. had begun work on the boardwalk in West End that morning.

From now until mid-2016, work will be done to rebuild and expand the boardwalk destroyed by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. That includes repairing and reinforcing the bluffs that the boardwalk is built on.

Dziuba said that the company would be working in sections, and was coordinating with the city to keep as much of the beachfront open as possible during the summer.

Work will start at Brighton Avenue, and the company will stay there until mid-June. They will be stopping just short of the West End beach, which means that only one beach needs to be closed at the start of the season.

Officials said that when the situation changed, they would do as much as possible to tell people what beaches were open, advertising in the media, and posting on Facebook and Twitter. They will even consider using Code Red (telephone notifications) to notify the public, if there seems to be a strong reason to let them know about a closing.

A resolution passed at the council meeting indicates there are 16 entrance points to the city’s beaches this year. Half of them are in areas which could be affected by construction.

“There are going to be some inconveniences for all of us while it’s being done, but in the end we will have a beautiful boardwalk,” Councilwoman Kathleen Billings told the public later in the meeting.

The boardwalk is scheduled to be largely completed, and totally usable, by next Memorial Day.

In other beach news, council voted to make the Takanassee Beach entrance a paid beach this year, due to the heavy use.
Last year, the city put guards there due to safety concerns, but did not charge for admission. The new sand drew many people to the area – and quite a few people went into the ocean to swim. Lifeguards had to perform several rescues down there.

“We knew we had a problem down there. There’s a lot of people,” Dziuba said. “Because of the number of people who go… I don’t think we have any option but to put guards down there.”

And because lifeguards and cleaning the beach costs the city, they are going to be making it a paid site.

There will be a limited number of parking spaces near the former private beach club, but most beachgoers park near Takanassee Lake and cross Ocean Avenue to get there.

City Administrator Howard Woolley said that the same access rules that apply to other beaches would here, and that surfers could continue to use it. It will be free for surfers, fishermen, veterans, seniors, and children. Alcoholic beverages, an issue there last year, will be prohibited as they are on other city beaches.

Long Branch did not originally anticipate opening that beach this summer, but construction work in the area took less time than expected, which meant that it could be accessed more easily.

Despite the fact they didn’t originally budget for it, Woolley said the construction work and anticipated closures elsewhere in the city should let them pay for this.

“We’re hopeful if we close some of the other beaches we’re going to be able to rob Peter to pay Paul,” Woolley said.
Dziuba said that if New Jersey has a “perfect weather summer” they might need emergency appropriations to pay for the extra staff needed.