With the unofficial start of summer just around the corner, people are noticing something strange about the Cape May beach.
“When you’re walking in and out of the water there are pretty big rocks that you’re dealing with,” said Chad DeSatnick of Lower Township.
The beach is covered with a large surplus of rocks in the sand ranging from the size of golf balls to the size of a brick.
“If I were bathing on this beach it would be uncomfortable to walk over that amount of rocks to get into the water,” said Lynne Breslow of Lower Township.
The rocks are the unexplained result of a beach replenishment project that took place in January. The experimental process moved sand from parts of the beach that had too much of it to a three quarter mile stretch where it was in shorter supply. By March however, the ocean’s waves revealed thousands of tons of rocks that were hidden in all the sand.
“I would think it would be very important to take care of that if they want people using the beach,” said Breslow. “This is a tourist place.”
Beginning May 14, heavy machinery will be brought in to remove the rocks. The project is scheduled to last until the middle of June which means it likely won’t be done by Memorial Day weekend.
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“It’s something that we do have to address,” said Cape May city manager Bruce MacLeod. “Obviously it’s a side effect that no one could forecast or predict.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the city of Cape May will foot the bill, which costs around $158,000.
“It’s a public project which does come from taxpayers’ money at various levels,” said MacLeod.
Despite the city-funded project, Breslow is literally taking matters into her own hands, bagging some of the rocks up herself.
“I love stones,” said Breslow. “I take them home.”
The project will take place Monday through Friday. It will be completely halted however for all four days of Memorial Day weekend.
