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Lewes beach gets more sand

Courtesy of University of Delaware.
The Beach near Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes, taken in 2015.

A Lewes beach received more sand in early January to help it withstand future storms.

 

 

 

Contractor MZM Construction used a truck to move about 30,000 cubic yards of sand from a pit in Seaford to the beach near Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes.

Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Steve Rochette says now that the beach has more sand, it will fare better in the face of storms.

"It’s important to have that sand to act as sort of a sacrificial buffer in place, so when storms come there’s something there to absorb some of the energy of the waves," Rochette said.

 

Recent renourishment projects in Delaware have taken sand from the bottom of the ocean and moved it onto the beach.

Rochette said this one was done on a smaller scale. With smaller projects, it can be more effective and less costly to truck the sand in.

The replenishment project cost about $1.6 million.

 

The Army Corps of Engineers says beach renourishment projects in Bethany, South Bethany and Fenwick Island will start in March or April.

They expect to complete these projects in the spring and early summer this year, ahead of the summer tourism season.

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