To the editor:
…Having lived on Maine Avenue in Atlantic City in 1951, I watched the approximately mile-long master jetty being built where before there was an uninhabited area at the south end of Brigantine. Today it’s three quarters buried in sand.
At a meeting held in Margate by the Army Corps of Engineers a while back, I discussed building a master jetty at the south end of Longport that would move the sand-scalloping riptide current farther out, and widen the whole Absecon Island. Such a jetty would eliminate the need for building unsightly dunes along the Boardwalk, and at the same time prevent dangerous shifting shoals (sandbars) in the Great Egg Harbor Inlet, making it safer for boaters.
Obviously, it must have been thought about because when asked about the cost, one of the engineers responded that it would be about $30 million.
Since that time, millions of dollars have been spent replenishing the beaches, only to see it washed away with the next nor’easter. Quoting Glen Klotz at the meeting, “It’s nothing more than a cash cow for the dredging companies,” and I agree.
I would think that those in political power would do their utmost to preserve and protect the most valuable barrier island along the Eastern Seaboard. I’m certainly sure it would lessen the damage from future devastating hurricanes, and serve a two-fold purpose by preventing shifting sandbars and making it safer for boaters using the inlet.
Joe Zetooney
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