North Wildwood To Rebuild Two Sections of Boardwalk at the Same Time
Some major changes are coming to the North Wildwood section of the Wildwood Boardwalk this offseason, and this time, crews will be working on two different sections at the same time.
The City of North Wildwood confirmed exclusively to the Wildwood Video Archive that it will move forward with two major Boardwalk reconstruction projects this winter, with construction taking place on both the northern and southern ends of the Boardwalk.
Both projects are scheduled to officially get underway on Monday, October 5, with the goal of having the work completed around Easter 2027.
As we saw with North Wildwood’s last major Boardwalk project, sections of the Boardwalk are essentially ripped down to the sand so that crews can get underneath it, replace critical infrastructure and then rebuild the Boardwalk from the ground up.
North Wildwood To Rebuild Two Sections of Boardwalk at the Same Time
Where Will The Work Take Place?
The first project will take place on the southern end of the North Wildwood Boardwalk, continuing from the massive reconstruction project we watched unfold last offseason.
This new section will run from approximately 23rd Avenue to 24 ½ Avenue.
At the exact same time, a second project will begin on the opposite end of the Boardwalk at approximately 16th Avenue.
Right now, the city hasn’t determined exactly how far that northern section will extend.
That decision will come down to how much of the Boardwalk crews can realistically reconstruct while still making sure the completed section can safely reopen within the city’s construction schedule.
So, for the first time during this reconstruction program, we could essentially have crews rebuilding the North Wildwood Boardwalk from two different directions at once.
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This is where things get a little interesting.
Originally, the first phase of North Wildwood’s Boardwalk reconstruction was actually supposed to focus on the northern end of the Boardwalk.
But then the city learned that it would receive $10.3 million from the New Jersey Boardwalk Preservation Fund.
That opened the door for North Wildwood to take on significantly more work.
There was one catch.
The state Boardwalk Preservation Fund money has to be utilized by the program’s deadline at the end of 2026.
At the same time, the section of Boardwalk between roughly 16th and 18th avenues already includes federal grant funding.
Instead of trying to combine different funding sources into one giant construction project, North Wildwood decided to separate them.
That allows the city to keep the federal grant money tied to one project and the state funding tied to the other while moving forward with both at the same time.
It also helps make sure North Wildwood can take full advantage of that $10.3 million before the state’s deadline.
If you followed our coverage last winter, you know just how crazy the North Wildwood reconstruction looked once demolition started.
Crews removed the decking and supporting structure all the way down to the sand, leaving a massive open construction area where the Boardwalk had previously stood.
That allowed crews to get underneath everything and address infrastructure that normally isn’t visible to the millions of people who walk over it every year.
New pilings were installed, a new supporting structure was built, critical infrastructure was addressed and then the Boardwalk itself was rebuilt on top.
By the time everything was finished, you weren’t just looking at a Boardwalk with new wooden planks. You were looking at a newly built section of the North Wildwood Boardwalk.
And that’s an important distinction when we compare what’s happening in North Wildwood to the massive Boardwalk project we’ve been following in Wildwood.
North Wildwood Boardwalk Reconstruction Video Update
This Is Different From Wildwood’s Boardwalk Project
We’ve received a lot of questions asking why North Wildwood’s project looks so different from the construction we’ve watched take place in Wildwood over the past several years.
The simple answer is that they’re two different kinds of projects.
Wildwood’s multi-phase project has largely been a rehabilitation of the existing Boardwalk.
Crews have repaired and reused portions of the existing supporting structure while replacing decking and making other improvements along the way.
North Wildwood has taken a much more extensive approach in the sections being reconstructed.
Instead of simply working on top of what’s already there, the city has been tearing sections down, getting underneath the Boardwalk, installing new pilings and infrastructure and then building everything back up.
From above, the finished products might eventually look similar.
Underneath, they’re very different projects.
As for the Wildwood section of the next Boardwalk project, we are still waiting for additional details on exactly what the next round of construction will look like and when we’ll start seeing that work take place.
Of course, once October rolls around, we’ll have the cameras out and will be documenting both North Wildwood projects from demolition all the way through completion.
Considering how dramatic the last reconstruction was, this is going to be one heck of an offseason to watch.