Wall being built to protect 2 New Jersey coastal towns

MANTOLOKING, N.J. (WPVI) -- Using a specially equipped pile driver and 100 tons of force, crews are pounding 45 foot long metal sheets into the beach to create a four mile protective steel wall that will extend from Mantoloking to Brick.

NJ DEP commissioner Bob Martin explains, "It's built underneath the dunes. It's not on top, it's not a wall up above. It's built under the dunes."

The $23 million project, paid for mostly by the federal government, will be followed up by an Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project.

The purpose is to protect the area from the devastation of storms like Sandy, which damaged or destroyed over 8,000 homes in the two towns. It decimated the dune system, carving inlets from the ocean to the bay.

Mantoloking's Mayor George Nebel says, "We'll never have a damaged house again here. And I expect we'll protect Brick and everything on that side of the bay as well.

The steel walls will be the last line of defense if there's another storm like Sandy - a kind of shock absorber to protect homes, property and newly built Route 35 from the pounding of destructive waves.

Ocean Co. Freeholder John Bartlett tells us, "It is essential to protect the mainland that we protect this barrier Island."

Bill Dixon from the Bureau of Coastal Management says, "It's designed for a last line of defense in the event of a catastrophic storm where the dunes and beach are eroded away."

Some residents wanted rock walls instead of the "Iron Curtain", as it's called, but that was nixed.

Eric Doyle, NJ DEP, explains, "In essence, the best bang for the buck. A rock wall of similar magnitude would have cost 3 to 4 times more expensive."

The state is using eminent domain to build the wall where homeowners won't cooperate. And with temporary dunes, the only thing protecting residents from another raging storm, one homeowner is welcoming something more permanent.

Mantoloking resident Marilyn Dalessandro tells Action News, "I panic every time I look out and I see the ocean coming in close and everything. Makes me feel much safer and I'm waiting for the replenishment to come and make us feel even safer."

The four mile steel wall should be completed in the fall.