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The Army Corps of Engineers will return to the Manasquan Inlet next week to assess the large and potentially dangerous sandbar that has developed in the busy waterway, according to Congressman Chris Smith, a Republican from Manchester.
Smith said that the “shifting sands in the Inlet are not new, but this oversized low-tide sandbar in the inlet has not been seen in our lives.”
“The Corps’ new survey now scheduled for next week will help them better evaluate the most recent developments and any action that must be taken for the safety of commercial and recreational boaters on the inlet,” said Smith. “We appreciate their response.”
The sandbar has risen to within nine feet of the surface in one spot. Some commercial vessels need a 12-foot depth to safely navigate.
The survey will help locate exactly where the shallow spots lie, Smith said.
“We are gravely concerned that it will pose a serious hazard to navigation,” said Smith, who represents Manasquan, Point Pleasant and other Jersey Shore communities in both Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Groundings are extremely costly and very dangerous, he said.
"I respectfully request that the Army Corps take immediate corrective action to mitigate this potentially dangerous navigational hazard," Smith said in a news release.
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