The Jersey Shore’s “wooden main streets” could soon be revitalized thanks to an infusion of federal funding. The Murphy administration previously set aside $100 million in American Rescue Plan funds to improve boardwalks around the state. Now, the state has selected 18 municipalities to receive that money, from $20 million apiece to Asbury Park and Atlantic City to less than $1 million for small towns like Keyport and Berkeley Township.
In Asbury Park, the money will help renovate Convention Hall and the Paramount Theater. In Long Branch, plans including building a new pier to replace the one that burned down in 1987.
And the boardwalk improvements come with a second goal — to make the infrastructure more resilient against future natural disasters as climate change drives increasingly severe weather.
“That frequency of weather events has continued to grow,” said Samuel Viavattine, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs. “And so the fact that these boardwalks will be built in a more resilient way I think is going to mean a lot for generations to come.”
Viavattine said DCA received 33 applications for the program, and that lower-income communities were prioritized for funding.
