Installation of steel sheet pilings has begun for inlet project

The installation of steel sheet piling has begun for a project to repair the north bulkhead of the Indian River Inlet.

A section of the popular fishing location at the mouth of the Indian River within Delaware Seashore State Park has been closed since 2018. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the project, which costs $5.3 million and began a couple of months ago. The project also includes sand-tightening a portion of the south jetty.

Steel sheets, each 50 feet long and weighing about 3,500 pounds, have been installed for part of the project area, said Steve Rochette, Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson. The contractor will resume installation after Monday, July 8, he said, adding that the contractor is currently installing armor stone while it waits to resume installation.

To date, said Rochette, the project is moving along as expected and on schedule. About the only thing that has come up is answering questions from the public who aren’t familiar with the project, he said.

The pilings that have been installed are back from the failed walkway.

There are multiple design elements to the project, said Rochette. The landward sheets are for a catastrophic failure, but there will be other features seaward of that for primary protection, he said. 

There’s a huge crane on site as part of the installation. It’s almost as tall as the pylon towers for the Charles W. Cullen Bridge, which are 247.5 feet tall. The crane has 223 feet of boom, said Rochette.

To make way for the project, temporary fencing has been installed around the existing entrance and toll booth, the public restroom facilities and a portion of the parking lot closest to the inlet. A temporary entrance to the campground has been added, temporary bathroom facilities installed and an entrance lane into the parking lot has been added to what used to be an exit-only paved area.

Work on the south jetty won’t begin until October. It all has to be done by early April 2025.

The Army Corps isn’t putting a life expectancy on the work once the project is complete. This is considered a maintenance project by the Army Corps; the number of years it will last is unknown.

Part of the project is the removal of the concrete foundation that served an old coast guard antenna near the north jetty.

The Army Corps has plans to extend the inlet’s north jetty, but the current contract does not include those repairs. Data is still being collected.

The Army Corps has a project-specific website, which is updated regularly. That website is nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Indian-River-Inlet.