Avalon Eyes ‘Rock Trucks’ To Combat Beach Erosion

Posted November 17th 2025

It’s been a battle since the first inhabitants arrived on Seven Mile Beach more than 200 years ago: The struggle to stabilize our beaches against Mother Nature’s fiercest efforts to move or, in some cases, remove them. Avalon’s mayor in the early 1940s, Edith Greenan, was once quoted as saying, “The greatest challenge that we face as a town is finding a way to protect our beaches from constant erosion.”

A telling statement from 80 years ago, considering that at the time her town’s finances were under the control of the State of New Jersey. Avalon’s most recent former mayor, Marty Pagliughi, a leader in beach protection, was known to often list the fantastic amenities that the towns of Seven Mile Beach offer before reminding you “that all of the millions of people who have visited here for the past 100-plus years have come for one reason: our beaches. It’s always been that big a deal.”

The Borough of Avalon acted on a measure at its Nov. 17 Council meeting, which might be considered the most positive, cost-effective step in beach replenishment in the history of the towns of Seven Mile Beach. Said Avalon Mayor John McCorristin: “With no government appropriations at this time, it became obvious that we needed to begin to do something on our own to protect our dunes, beaches and bulkhead.”

The Borough Council was expected to vote to authorize the administration to purchase two John Deere “rock trucks” capable of holding 25-33 cubic yards of sand each. The purchase of these trucks, in coordination with an existing federal permit held by the Borough and the Borough’s existing employees with CDL certification, will enable the borough to perform sand backpassing on an ongoing basis without an outside contractor.

This process does not shorten the beach; instead, it removes a thin layer of sand from an area where sand is more abundant and moves it to an area where more sand is needed. Borough Administrator Scott Wahl, who initially proposed the concept, explained that the advance work won’t eliminate the need for more extensive backpassing or hydraulic dredging projects.

Obviously, it’s impossible to predict what damage future natural disasters might cause, but working in advance will allow the Borough to get ahead of the sand replacement process. This is a function that the Borough has occasionally conducted in the offseason in the past. “Now, this will allow us to shore up new hot spots in advance gradually,” Wahl noted.

The cost of the two trucks, which is expected to be $950,000, will be funded through unexpended bond ordinances, so it’s not likely to impact the borough’s budget. The advanced backpassing is also expected to lead to future savings for the borough, which should cover the cost of the equipment purchase.