Parts of the Jersey shore are still recovering from Superstorm Sandy 2 1/2 years after the devastating storm. While substantial progress has been made in rebuilding, thousands of homes still remain uninhabitable, and aid for rebuilding is still being parceled out. Here’s a look at some key areas of the recovery effort and where things stand as the third summer after the storm approaches:
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REBUILDING AID
The state’s Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation has completed work on 1,060 homes and is disbursing an average of $10 million a week. Of the 6,900 homeowners approved for grants, over 6,600 have received at least one payment to rebuild, reconstruct or elevate their homes, said Lisa Ryan, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs.
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INFRASTRUCTURE
The most immediate goal after Sandy was to get basic systems back up and running; the storm toppled utility poles, pulled down wires, flooded and knocked out sewage plants, and destroyed parts of Route 35, the second-busiest coastal highway in the state along the northern Ocean County barrier island. When the storm surge cut Mantoloking in two, it sliced through Route 35. A massive rebuilding effort has largely taken care of those things; the Route 35 project should be finished this year, and Mantoloking is at least temporarily protected by a steel sea wall between the ocean and Route 35. Efforts to repair the storm-damaged sea wall in Sea Bright are underway, and a project to protect storm-wrecked Union Beach with levees, floodwalls, tide gates and pump stations was announced last month but won’t be finished until 2020.
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BEACHES AND BOARDWALKS
Beach replenishment projects are underway or have already been completed along the state’s 127-mile coastline. But vulnerable spots remain, particularly in northern Ocean County, where homeowners refuse to allow dune construction, fearing the loss of their oceanfront views or greater public encroachment near their homes. Virtually all boardwalks damaged in the storm have been rebuilt; the last one, in Long Branch, should begin in June. Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, where the Jet Star roller coaster plunged off the boards into the sea during Sandy, is being rebuilt. An amusement pier in neighboring Seaside Park won’t be ready for this summer but will be rebuilt as well.
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