Living Shoreline in Ocean County, NJ Voted “Best Green Project”

The Iowa Court and South Green Living Shoreline Project in Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton, NJ, was awarded “Best Green Project” by Engineering News-Record magazine. The project is recognized for its use of innovative techniques to install new features to restore damage from Hurricane Sandy and protect the area from future storms.

In 2012, Superstorm Sandy devastated communities throughout New Jersey and the entire eastern seaboard. Storm resilience, flood mitigation, and shoreline restoration have since become top priorities for coastal communities and low-lying areas.

The Township of Little Egg Harbor, in conjunction with local partners including the Borough of Tuckerton, was the recipient of a $2.13 million Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Competitive Grant through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for a Marsh Restoration and Replenishment project. The grant was secured by New Jersey Future. The purpose of the project was to restore and replenish local marsh, wetlands, and beaches suffering extensive erosion along the shoreline.

T&M Associates, as the Municipal Engineer of Record for the project, oversaw all aspects of the design and implementation. T&M contracted Princeton Hydro to perform sediment sampling/testing and conduct hydrographic surveys, and Arthur Chew Consulting to assist with the feasibility study and design of the dredging project.

The project, which was completed in September 2019, provides long-term protection from erosion and will restore the vegetated shoreline habitats through strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill, and other structural and organic materials. The living shoreline will help in the areas of storm protection, flood mitigation, and combatting shoreline erosion. The project was a great success for the Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton communities.

Since the restoration of Iowa Court and South Green Street, this living shoreline model has received significant attention and praise, including in the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey 2020 Engineering Excellence Awards; the New Jersey Society of Municipal Engineers 2019 Project of the Year Awards; and, now, this “Best Green Project” award from Engineering News-Record.

“There is growing interest in this approach from municipalities up and down the Jersey Shore. Storm and flood damage is still a pressing threat to hundreds of towns and boroughs, and it is widely accepted that storms like Sandy will only become more frequent due to the effects of climate change,” said Jason Worth, P.E., Group Manager at T&M Associates. “Thankfully, there is hope in innovation and creativity – with new approaches to living shorelines we can breathe life back into devastated beachfront communities and the natural ecosystems that support them.”

Princeton Hydro specializes in the planning, design, permitting, implementing, and maintenance of coastal rehabilitation projects. To learn more about some of our ecosystem restoration and enhancement services, visit: bit.ly/PHcoastal.

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