By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer
MARGATE -- The beaches in Margate and Longport have gotten larger over the past 10 years thanks in part to the beach replenishment programs in Atlantic City and Ventnor.
“The general tendency is for sand to move north to south,” said Norbert Psuty, Ph.D. of Rutgers University during a special meeting of the Margate City Commissioners Feb. 2.
The specialist in shoreline erosion and coastal zone management was hired by Margate to advise city officials of the effect a proposed groin in Ventnor would have on Margate beaches.
Holding the sand in place is why Ventnor, the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers are proposing a groin that would impede the flow of sand southward.
If the groin is built, Psuty said that sand would continue to migrate to Margate and Longport beaches, but at a slower rate.
The proposed groin would be roughly 550 feet long. The first 120 feet would be along the beach and at the waterline before it slopes into the water, extending another 300 feet.
The groin would be made of vinyl and timber; the portion that extends into the water would be surrounded by large rocks and stone, advised Psuty. At high tide, water and sand would flow over the groin.
“I think the design of the groin, triangular rather than rectangular, will allow for sand to flow over it, but it will eventually erode and it could result in a two to three feet drop between Margate and Ventnor.”
The project also calls for sand to be replenished on the Ventnor side of the groin. Margate officials have expressed concern over a possible wall forming from the sand being replenished on only the Ventnor side.
“I would want some assurance that when they cover the bulkhead (with sand) they put it on both the Margate and the Ventnor side,” said Margate Commissioner Sigmund Rimm. “Ventnor has a problem and I want to be a good neighbor, but our first concern is the beaches in Margate.”
There is some confusion as to the exact location of the groin. Psuty said that although it is listed as Fredericksburg Avenue, the location is actually Martindale where Psuty found evidence of a previous groin constructed in the 1920s or ‘30s.
“This would be constructed on the site of the previous wooden groin,” he said.
Following Psuty’s remarks, the commissioners decided to ask the DEP to make the groin smaller.
Currently the project is in a 30-day public comment period. Rimm said the city would move quickly to have its request included.
Asked about the likelihood of the project being changed at this juncture considering that the engineering is already completed, Psuty said, “You cannot be sure, but the request to reduce the size of the groin is only changing the length and the height and not a change of the design of the groin.”
Edward Walberg, representative of city engineers Remington, Vernick, and Walberg will work with Psuty to get Margate’s request for change in before the Feb. 25 deadline for comment, Rimm said.
The project is slated to begin construction in the Fall 2006, but is still lacking final approvals from the state.
Psuty said considering that the project is 65 percent federally funded, 25 percent state funded with Ventnor paying the balance, construction be delayed.
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