Erosion Threat Grows in North Wildwood as City Announces New Beachfront Bulkhead
It’s no secret that the Wildwoods, especially in North Wildwood, have to deal with its fair share of beach erosion. For the past 20 years, we’ve seen major changes up and down the island due to hurricanes, nor’easters, and other storms.
It’s always this time of year, as people are thinking about summer, do people start to question how do the beaches look like. And just like every year, the answer is still the same. We did receive some erosion.
The good news is that the sand dunes continue to do their job by stopping the tidal flow from reaching our streets and critical infrastructure.
This past weekend, the Wildwood Video Archive went down to document how the beaches in North Wildwood look The best way to see this erosion is, of course, via the sky.
At the bottom of this article, you’re able to see what the beach erosion looks like via a seagull’s point of view.
Sometimes it’s hard to explain how much erosion happens on a beach, but here in North Wildwood, at 21st Street, there’s a manhole cover which caps off the out-pipe to the ocean.
For the first time in quite some time, that manhole cover is sitting roughly about two feet out of the sand, which indicates that in that area, we roughly saw about two feet of sand taken out to sea. It’s these heavy-hitting waves that attack our shorelines every year and cause this erosion.
That’s why we heavily rely on dune systems and bulkheads. And the good news is, just on Wednesday, the city of North Wildwood announced a new bulkhead.
Just this week, North Wildwood announced plans to construct a new beachfront bulkhead stretching from the midpoint between 12th and 13th Avenues up to 15th Avenue. This new structure will connect directly to the existing bulkheads already in place, creating a more continuous line of defense along this vulnerable stretch of shoreline.
According to city officials, recent storms and tidal events have once again caused severe erosion to both the beach berm and dune system in this area.
That erosion has placed the city at what officials describe as an “imminent risk” of a dune breach, which could allow storm surge and tidal flooding to push further inland and threaten nearby infrastructure.
The new bulkhead, which is expected to span approximately 752 feet, is designed to reinforce the city’s existing shoreline protection efforts.
By stabilizing this section of the beach, the project aims to reduce the risk of damage to roads, utilities, and nearby properties during future storm events.
Importantly, the city has already secured all necessary permits from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, AKA, meaning the CAFRA is approved and ready to do. This means construction to move forward quickly
Work on the project is expected to begin next week, with completion targeted before Memorial Day 2026, just ahead of the busy summer season. Once finished, beach access points at each street end will be restored, ensuring that both residents and visitors can continue to enjoy the shoreline.
During construction, however, there may be temporary closures along the beachfront bike path between 12th and 15th Avenues as work progresses.
Below is our drone video of the North Wildwood beach erosion. Before you watch, please consider subscribing!