Beaching it in Sea Bright After Sandy

After Hurricane Sandy's clean-up in Sea Bright pushed the sand back off the streets and piled it high into what is now referred to as Mount Sandy, the borough underwent an $8.5 million beach replenishment project that pumped more than one million cubic yards of sand onto Sea Bright's shores. 

The fourth Sea Bright project in a decade, planned long before Sandy, it did not satiate the mounting replenishment needs after the storm.

A couple of storms, a few high tides and Nor'Easter later and the Sea Bright shoreline was reduced to little more than a sliver. Mount Sandy was pushed back onto the beach where it belonged. But it was not enough.

Now, a $25 million Sea Bright-Monmouth Beach component of what has been dubbed the largest Jersey Shore replenishment project in history ($101 million) is underway.

It's the fifth in a decade for Sea Bright. Poised to pump 2.5 million cubic yards of sand onto its beaches, it is is slated to bring the Sea Bright beach back to its original design profile, making it wider than it was before Sandy, officials have said.

With summer season in full swing, loyal beachgoers are back, though not in the same force as usual. There's sand, and there's been much progress in Sea Bright since Sandy. Though its effects still remain.

Sections of the Sandy-torn parking lot are coned and cordoned off. The small beach headquarters building was obliterated by the storm and replaced with a row of lockers for lifeguards. There are port-a-potty bathrooms. And the beach entrance's dunes and infrastructure have been flattened. 

But people are loyally beaching in Sea Bright. 

Take a look at the above photo gallery for a glimpse onto the beach the first summer after Sandy.