Piling Crew Uncovers Possible 19th Century Shipwreck
Vibratory Hammers Hit Old Sea Vessel on Jersey Shoreline
New Jersey construction workers installing a wall of sheet piling along the shore thought nothing of the timber materials they ran into one day in late October. That’s because since starting their 3.5 mile project in July, hitting old buried boardwalks or timber bulkheads wasn’t unusual, says Derek Serpe, project manager at EIC Associates Inc. The construction company is contracted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to make the New Jersey coast, greatly damaged by Hurricane Sandy, more resilient to future storms.
“We’d be driving sheet. The sheet would meet refusal, and we were unable to drive through it so we’d bring the excavator and then dig in and clear whatever it is,” Serpe says.