PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. Wider beaches and protective dunes are closer to reality for those South Jersey beach towns that have not previously had projects built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In its second report to Congress detailing how it will spend its roughly $5 billion allotment of Hurricane Sandy disaster aid, the Army Corps said it plans to use hundreds of millions of dollars to restore beaches for the first time in Ship Bottom, Beach Haven and Long Beach Township, other than Brant Beach. Margate, Longport, the south end of Ocean City, Strathmere and Sea Isle City also are included.

There is no timeline for how and when the projects will be built because there still are numerous decisions that have to be finalized, said Ed Voigt, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District.

Projects on the list also include constructing a seawall along Absecon Inlet in Atlantic City, Voigt said. From an engineers standpoint, that project is really ready to go.

The projects in south Ocean City, Strathmere and Sea Isle City had been designed in the 1990s and did not include dunes, but Voigt said corps policy now requires dunes and wider beaches.

When we build south Ocean City, Strathmere and Sea Isle City, that project will include a dune, Voigt said.

The report lists 18 projects that have been designed and approved, but have not been built. It estimates the total cost of building the projects in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Virginia to be more than $2.1 billion. Projects for South Jersey are estimated to cost about $180 million. Voigt said the estimates may change significantly, either up or down, as construction costs become more clear.

This is important news for our region, for our tourism-based economy and for the countless businesses and jobs that depend on the beaches of the Jersey Shore for their livelihood, U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2 said in a news release.

Earlier this year, the Army Corps began putting sand back on numerous beaches in South Jersey to repair damage to the beach width and dunes that happened during Sandy and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Work has been nearly completed in Stone Harbor, while work was completed earlier this year in Avalon and Brigantine and on Tuesday in Ocean Citys north end. Work is expected to begin in the coming weeks for Brant Beach and Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island, Atlantic City and Ventnor and work will begin in the fall in Cape May.

We knew this was going to come, we just hoped it would have come a month earlier, Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said about the latest Army Corps plans during the City Councils meeting Thursday night.

See more here:

Army Corps will use hundreds of millions to restore beaches in South Jersey