I used to fish the rb and sandy hook years ago and cut them out of the rotation because there were better opps down south. Now with the north jetty rebuilding and some other issues am looking to make some moves north for fishing. Does anyone have the status of the keansburg or spy house piers? Were they damaged by Sandy or are they fully rebuilt. thank you gents.
^^^^^Spyhouse pier is almost completed. They were able to rebuild by using the old pilings. The new footprint is relatively the same. I was there on the weekend and took these pics. Hit me up back channel when you want to come up and Ill let you know if the bite is on.
on May 25, 2014 at 6:00 AM, updated May 25, 2014 at 6:15 AM
MIDDLESEX COUNTY ? There's extra reason this weekend to celebrate the unofficial start of summer along this part of the Jersey Shore.
A year and a half after Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to Middlesex County?s Old Bridge Waterfront Park, the repairs are done and the park is ready for summer.
Ralph Albanir, director of the county?s Department of Parks and Recreation, said the new playground is open, the third fishing pier is complete and opened, and the heavily damaged boardwalk is restored from Cliffwood Beach, closest to the Monmouth County border, all the way into Laurence Harbor in Old Bridge.
?The boardwalk looks great,? Albanir said. ?There is new lighting. We have replaced the damaged playground with a larger one that has a nautical theme. We just need a safety certificate the contractor must obtain that all safety measures were built in. Then we can open the playground.?
Like Middlesex County, many other Jersey Shore communities are ready to welcome back Shore visitors after completing repairs to parks, boardwalks and other infrastructure damaged by Sandy.
Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers said last month that his town's portion of a boardwalk damaged heavily in a September fire would be ready for summer and Mayor Robert Matthies in neighboring Seaside Park said he, too, expected his town's portion of the boardwalk to be finished by Monday, Memorial Day.
Shore beaches also were reported to be in their best shape in years heading into this weekend, thanks to a major replenishment project after Hurricane Sandy and winter storms that took it easy on the coastline, according to an Associated Press report.
In Middlesex County's case, it has taken more than a year to return Old Bridge's Waterfront Park and it?s beachfront to its pre-Sandy shape.
The 54-acre park runs 3.1 miles along the Raritan Bay to the Monmouth County border at Pirate?s Cove.
Hurricane Sandy did more than $5 million in damage to the park, primarily due to the intense storm surge that hit the bay. The park was closed ?indefinitely? after the storm so the cleanup and repairs could be made.
Albanir said county parks employees cleaned up the damage and brought in 1,000 pounds of sand to replace the sand lost during the storm, so the park?s beach could reopen last summer.
Two of the three fishing piers?all of which suffered significant damage in the storm?have been open for some time, but the contractor still had to install the railing on the third pier before the public could use it. The railing was finished last week and the pier opened to the public.
?That park really provides such a great access to Raritan Bay,? Albanir said. ?It was sad to see it damaged. To see it come back is a pleasure.?
Albanir said the damage done by Sandy to another county park?Raritan Bay Waterfront Park in Sayreville and South Amboy?is also complete and will open to the public this summer.
Meanwhile, the federal Environmental Protection Agency is in talks with NL Industries, previously known as National Lead, which the agency has identified as the only potentially responsible party for the massive contamination found in Raritan Bay and a large portion of Old Bridge Waterfront Park. The affected areas had to be closed to the public.
The EPA ordered the corporation in February to begin the $79 million cleanup of what is known as the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund site. The work is expected to last five to seven years.
The order covers cleanup in three areas contaminated with lead: the Laurence Harbor seawall next to the county park; another section that includes the western jetty in Sayreville and then from the Cheesequake Creek Inlet into Raritan Bay; and the third section of about 50 acres of Margaret?s Creek.
?The EPA remains in ongoing discussions with NL regarding funding and implementation of EPA?s cleanup plan for the site,? said EPA spokesman Elias Rodriguez.
NL Industries was named by the EPA in 2012 as the only potentially responsible party for the massive cleanup because the lead remains, known as slag, of the smelting process from the company?s former Perth Amboy facility was dumped by a private trucking company at the affected sites from about 1960 to about 1980.
The affected areas were placed on the national list of Superfund sites in 2009 when high levels of lead were found in the bay and surrounding waters in those locations. A large portion of the park had to be closed to the public as a result.
About 200 feet of the Old Bridge park?s waterfront has been fenced off since early 2012 after high levels of lead were found in the soil. The areas repaired and open by the county in the park are not part of the affected area.
^^^^ yeah and they r f'ing up the whole area wit muddy water they got cranes and dump trucks going at all hours of the night. when u look at it from the side its like the gasoline city in mad max everything else is dark and this whole site is lit up at nite they must be getting big buxx from the feds to work ot like that. getting paid big time!