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Work on dune repairs near Indian River Inlet is moving along

Nov. 17, 2024, aerial view of the dune breach at Delaware Seashore State Park (looking north). The SR-1 northbound lane is closed to vehicles and completely covered in ocean water, sand and debris.
DNREC
Nov. 17, 2024, aerial view of the dune breach at Delaware Seashore State Park (looking north). The SR-1 northbound lane is closed to vehicles and completely covered in ocean water, sand and debris.

Work is moving along quickly on an emergency project north of the Indian River Inlet.

In mid-August, the area saw a dune breach which threatened not only the beach and dune, but also State Route 1, one of the state’s evacuation routes.

“They are moving 340,000 cubic yards worth of material from the inland flood shoal onto the north side Indian River Inlet beach where we have been doing operations since early August, to repair the dune in that particular area," said Kathleen Bergin, Field Manager for DNREC’s Shore and Waterline Section.

Since the dredging portion of the project was launched in November, crews have worked around the clock, moving over 130,000 cubic yards of sand - enough to fill more than 8,000 dump trucks.

“They did work all through the holiday," Bergin said. "We are very appreciative of the fact that they continue to work 24 hour operations, and they have moved a substantial amount of material in a very short period of time.”

The $15 million project will ultimately transport about 380,000 cubic yards of material to the affected area to restore the dunes and beach. After that phase of the project wraps up in February, a second phase led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin.

Bergin says the project will yield benefits for non-human beachgoers as well.

“We will be installing thousands of plugs of American beachgrass, and increasing the dune area actually increases the habitat space available for shore birds," she said.

Updates on the project and beach closures can be found at de.gov/IRNorth.

Martin Matheny comes to Delaware Public Media from WUGA in Athens, GA. Over his 12 years there, he served as a classical music host, program director, and the lead reporter on state and local government. In 2022, he took over as WUGA's local host of Morning Edition, where he discovered the joy of waking up very early in the morning.