$12.7M Contract Awarded For Ocean City Beach Project

BALTIMORE (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $12.7 million contract for beach renourishment in Ocean City, Maryland.

The corps announced Wednesday that the contract has been awarded to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company. Officials say the effort will move 900,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach. Work is expected to begin after Labor Day.

Project Manager Justin Callahan says most people don't realize the beach they enjoy in Ocean City is an engineered beach meant to help reduce coastal storm damage and renourishment is key to maintaining it. Ocean City has a more than 8-mile-long beach berm constructed to 7 feet above mean high tide. There's a concrete-capped steel sheet pile bulkhead along the boardwalk and a vegetated sand dune north to the state line.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)