Super Efforts to Combat Superstorm Sandy
Superstorm Sandy brought devastation to much of the northeastern United States. When this catastrophic storm made landfall in late 2012, it destroyed buildings, roadways and vehicles and left extensive debris in waterways along the New Jersey Shore. Under FEMA guidelines, the state identified eleven zones in three regions for waterway debris removal to restore the waterways to pre-storm conditions.
Conti Federal mobilized five debris removal crews and two survey vessels to perform debris removal from the affected waterways and shorelines. This encompassed nearly 200 miles along the southern New Jersey shore. Due to the rapid response nature of the project, Conti Federal mobilized 25% of crews and equipment within 24 hours, 75% within 60 hours and 100% within 96 hours of activation.
Material left from the storm included construction and demolition debris, submerged and destroyed automobiles, boats and other large items that created an obstruction to the movement of both commercial and recreational vessel traffic. Debris also included anything along the shoreline up to the level of high tide and in some cases beyond. Conti Federal removed floating debris and debris along the shoreline with shallow draft workboats and barges equipped with grappler hook mechanisms. While the shorelines and shallows were being cleared, Conti Federal simultaneously used additional vessels to remove submerged debris located under water using side scan sonar.
By closeout, Conti Federal had cleared and disposed of 174,000 tons of debris.
Conti Federal mobilized 100% of project crews within four days to clear 174,000 tons of hurricane waterway debris along the Atlantic Coast.
