Below copy of Facebook Post on the Tuckerton Beach Association Group from Brian Martin-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TuckertonBeachAssociation/permalink/3625824361018336/

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TBA Members,

I apologize I couldn’t make it to the General Meeting yesterday. I wanted to attend and discuss the latest on “the spit of land”. Back in March of last year, the Borough submitted a project proposal for a living shoreline to Congressman Jeff Van Drew requesting $4.5 million in funding. We (Both Pete Gioiello and myself) had previously been in touch with the Congressman and his team looking for funding options in Tuckerton Beach and Paradise Cove. The Congressman thought our project for the spit of land was a perfect fit for funding through the FY24 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Act. Last summer, Congressman Jeff Van Drew submitted an application $4.5 million for the Little Egg Harbor Boulevard Living Shoreline, it met the requirements, and was added to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024. The bill passed the House on July 27th, the Senate on March 8th, and the next day it was signed into law.

What this all means…

We are way too early in the process to have any specific details yet. There are a lot of unknowns still regarding when we actually receive money to even begin the engineering and design. My best guess is we won’t see anything happening this year as far as mobility, and possibly even 2025. What I am confident about is that we will be constructing a living shoreline along Little Egg Harbor Blvd’s “Spit of Land”. I would love to see us be able to use dredge material to backfill and do plantings. Whether this is feasible, or even allowed, is yet to be seen (I’m working on it Frank!). I will regularly keep Pete and the TBA updated as I receive information and guidance.

I really want to thank Congressman Van Drew and his entire team for making this happen. This is a huge win for Tuckerton Beach and our entire town. I am hopeful this opens some doors to other much needed projects along our waterways and shoreline. Thompsons Creek, Kingfisher lagoon and marsh are also on the Congressman’s radar, as well as many others of our elected leadership.

Finally, I have attached 2 photos to this post. The first was taken by me this morning with a high tide. The second is a Photoshop manipulation that I also created. Please note, this is not an official rendering of what the project will look like. Again, way too early!!! While not official, this is what I am hoping to see when completed.