STONE HARBOR - Borough officials are awaiting word on whether a dredge pumping sand along Cape May County beaches will reach Stone Harbor in the summer or the fall.
Stone Harbor and North Wildwood will be the last two municipalities to receive sand through a massive $22 million, four-municipality beach replenishment funded mostly by state dollars.
At a Borough Council meeting, state officials on Tuesday afternoon detailed plans for Stone Harbor's $2.5 million beach fill, of which the borough is paying about $637,000.
But officials said the project, which is proceeding south, does not necessarily have to hit Stone Harbor before North Wildwood.
Since the work requires temporary beach closings, it would be advantageous to Stone Harbor to have its relatively smaller and less time-consuming beach after North Wildwood's.
Work could take place in the fall instead of late August, when beaches are still stocked with vacationers.
The dredge in Stone Harbor will borrow 245,000 cubic yards of sand from Hereford Inlet and pump it on beaches between 98th Street and 111th Street, said Ben Keiser, manager of the state Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Coastal Engineering.
