N. Wildwood plans to extend its popular seawall

North Wildwood’s concrete-capped seawall was built to combat erosion but has become a popular destination in its own right, serving as a promenade for pedestrians, anglers, and dog walkers.

Now, the town is seeking approval to extend the seawall by approximately one-quarter mile, stretching from Third to Seventh Avenues along JFK Boulevard.

The existing seawall, erected in 2009, originates at Hereford Inlet in North Wildwood’s northern Anglesea section and stretches to Second Avenue and the boulevard. Though pedestrians are allowed along the top, cyclists are not.

North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said the seawall extension would take about 18 months to build and impact at least one summer season if the state approves it. He said the formal application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is the result of a near decade-long goal by the Shore town to extend the seawall after winter storm Jonas battered the town in 2016.

“This is a very, very significant project,” Rosenello said.

The roughly $19 million project would be funded through a $10.5 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $6.5 million from New Jersey, and $2 million from North Wildwood.

The DEP would manage the project and is a co-applicant, which should help smooth the process through state approvals. A representative for the DEP could not be reached for comment Thursday.

“Primarily, it’s a Shore protection measure,” Rosenello said. “Having a hard structure like that around the northeast corner of a barrier island at the New Jersey shore is worth its weight in gold. That is the absolute best protection you can have against a serious, serious storm.”

But the “ancillary benefit” of having it serve as a trail, he noted, “is an incredible way to get very close to nature without having to stand on sand.”

The seawall needs approval under New Jersey’s Coastal Area Facility Review Act. A 30-day public comment period begins Aug. 6. Rosenello said he hopes that the application can be approved by the end of the year and that bids for construction go out by next summer.

The goal is to have the seawall protect the vulnerable northeast corner of North Wildwood that juts unprotected into the Atlantic Ocean.

The extension would also serve a recreational purpose by allowing people to take a largely uninterrupted walk starting at Anglesea, connect with the extension, and follow it south. From there, they could continue on the ground-level boardwalk at Seventh Avenue through to North Wildwood’s raised boardwalk at 15th Avenue. The boardwalk flows into Wildwood, and through to the Wildwood Crest border.

Rosenello estimates that would be about five miles of an “off-street” path for pedestrians.

The seawall extension quells animosity that grew between North Wildwood and the DEP when the town erected a temporary zigzagging seawall and graded beaches and dunes in 2023 without state permits in an effort to stop erosion. The DEP said the measures would worsen erosion.

The resulting disputes led to fines and lawsuits that continued into 2024.

Rosenello said the extension application this year puts that largely to rest, given that the two sides are now working together as part of an agreement reached in December. The state agreed to rescind $12 million in fines levied against North Wildwood, and the city agreed to drop its lawsuit against the state. The agreement also called for a full beach replenishment covering the entire island.

» READ MORE: North Wildwood makes deal with New Jersey for beach replenishment and seawall

Rosenello said that as mayor he has seen major Shore projects, such as beach replenishment, dredging, and the installation of bulkheads and docks.

“But a seawall is a whole other animal,” he said. “They bring in these massive, multiton boulders that are so big you can only get up to three on an 18-wheeler. And when l say massive, I mean they are like the size of a small car.”

Federal funding for the grant, in light of recent cuts, is not expected to be an issue because the money had been approved in a prior budget year, Rosenello said. The money will come from FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program that provides funds for projects designed to reduce the risk from natural hazards.

Funding has become a sensitive topic in the wake of Congress’ failure to include any funding for U.S. coastal beach replenishment projects this year, the first time it has done so since 1996.

Congress typically allocates between $100 million and $200 million each year for beach replenishment initiatives — projects that dredge sand from the ocean floor or other places and deposit it onto U.S. coastal beaches to combat erosion.

This year, however, the federal budget earmarked zero dollars.

» READ MORE: Shore towns get no federal dollars for beach replenishments for the first time in almost 30 years

In related news, a massive federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project that involves the entire barrier island, known as Five Mile Beach, has yet to start. The project spans North Wildwood, Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Diamond Beach (which is part of Lower Township).

There is an urgency to get the project complete, Rosenello said, because of an approaching Army Corps-imposed September deadline.

Both Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, which had agreed to the plan, later balked at how much of their beaches they would have to give up and expressed concern over the impact to their towns, throwing the project into uncertainty.

The Army Corps recently sent a letter telling the DEP to get all sides to agree by the deadline or risk losing the funding.

Representatives from the towns met Thursday with the DEP to discuss the issue.