Sandy Hook to Get $3.5M in Sandy Aid

Federal funds have been designated to remediate post-Hurricane Sandy damage at Sandy Hook, signaling a good sign that the national park is one step closer to being open this summer season.

More than $4.75 million in federal aid will help repair and rebuild roads in two New Jersey national parks that sustained significant damage during Hurricane Sandy, U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez announced Monday evening. 

The aid, provided through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Emergency Relief and Federally Owned Roads Program, will fund repairs in the Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit and the Edwin J. Forsyth National Wildlife Refuge in Atlantic County.

According to Lautenberg's office, Sandy Hook will receive $3.530 million for the National Park Service project to repair its damaged roadways.

Sandy Hook, a peninsula surrounded on either site by the Atlantic Ocean and the Raritan Bay, sustained significant damage during the late October storm. A popular tourist destination, officials have said they are unsure if the park will be ready to open this upcoming beach season due to the severity of the damage caused by Sandy.

Forsythe Wildlife Refuge was closed in the aftermath of Sandy as tidal surges crested over Wildlife Drive, causing significant damage to the road infrastructure there.

The preserve will receive $1.25 million for storm-damaged roadway repair.

The funding is part of the recently adopted Hurricane Sandy Relief Act. The $60.2 billion package was approved by Congress in January and signed into law by President Barack Obama shortly after.