Beyond the casinos and boardwalk of Atlantic City, NJ sits Gardner’s Basin Back Bay. The area at the north end of Absecon Island is home to an aquarium, commercial fishing boats, outdoor concerts, dolphin tours, Crafters Village, and a collection of charming restaurants. This historic area of Gardner’s Basin Back Bay recently received a $3.6 million renovation.
Gardner’s Basin is situated on Absecon Inlet, which leads from the Atlantic Ocean through the Barnegat Peninsula, a 20-mile long narrow barrier peninsula, located in Ocean County, NJ. Storm surge along the eastern seaboard causes billions of dollars’ worth of damage on a yearly basis. Nowhere is that as evident as on the coastline of New Jersey. Several devastating storms have hit the New Jersey shores over the last 20 years, including Hurricane Andrew and Superstorm Sandy. These storms wreaked havoc on the coastal towns up and down the eastern seaboard.
Over the years, these storms, storm surges, and other issues have caused major erosion of the timber bulkhead that protected the area around Gardner’s Basin. The lack of a bulkhead contributed to flooding on a regular basis in the Back Bay, causing damage to local businesses and homes.
The renovations in the Back Bay include a new bulkhead in the inlet to protect from future storm surges and damage. The contract for the bulkhead project was awarded to Walters Marine Construction Inc., located in Ocean View, NJ. Walters Marine is a family-owned and operated business and has been specializing in marine construction since 1988. They have worked with Nucor Skyline over the years on many different projects, and trusted Nucor Skyline with their steel piling needs for this project.
Nucor Skyline supplied NZ 26 sheet piles and C6X8.2 double channel walers for the job. Prior to delivery, the sheet piles were coated with 16mils Amerlock 2GF at 100% on both sides to extend their life in the harsher marine elements. The NZ 26 sheet piles, with the Larssen interlock, have one of the most watertight seals in the industry today, making it ideal for marine use.
Walters Marine used a Manitowoc M65W Crawler Crane and an HPSI 150 vibratory hammer for the installation of the sheet piles in the sandy and silty soils of the basin. The piles were driven seamlessly into the soils, allowing construction to be completed quickly and efficiently.
The walers were installed once the sheet piles were driven to design depth. Following this installation, wooden forms were built to create the new concrete bulkhead, using the sheet piles as the bulkhead’s sturdy foundation.
The project was completed in October 2020 and held back basin waters during the recent Hurricane Ida that hit New Jersey in 2021.
To find out more about marine projects using Nucor Skyline steel, please visit www.nucorskyline.com.
