Sections of the famous boardwalk in Wildwood have turned red thanks to new sections of wood being installed in time for summer.
Work to install sections of cumaru, a Brazilian wood considered by officials to be dense and durable, is being paid for using funds from the $100 million in Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget dedicated to rehabbing structures along the coastline.
Ocean City and the Wildwoods’ boardwalk are considered to be the lifeblood of Cape May County, housing some of the area’s largest employers, such as Morey’s Piers.
In Wildwood, efforts to mend the boardwalk gained ground about three years ago, when Murphy announced $4 million in state money for the boardwalk during an Independence Day visit. Since then, Wildwood has been given allocations totaling $12 million from the state each year to help, officials said Monday.
The type of wood being used is likely to last for between 70 and 80 years, Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. said.
Rides on the city’s renowned tram car will also likely be smoother because of the wood, he said.
“If you care about your community, you care about the infrastructure of that community,” Troiano said. “The boardwalk is probably one of the largest generators of revenue for Trenton.”
The city has previously used ipe, another Brazilian wood, to replace other sections, but Troiano found cumaru, learning Atlantic City’s boardwalk also features pieces of the same wood.
Thousands of pieces have been laid down between Schellenger and Spicer avenues. Workers have been busy finishing the project so steel fencing can be removed to welcome back visitors, which Troiano expects by Easter weekend.
Wildwood is planning to use about $8 million in state funding to replace hundreds of wooden planks north of the city’s convention center, officials said. At the time of Murphy’s visit a handful of summers ago, officials said at least $60 million would be needed to fully replace the entire span.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration has provided $3.2 million in grants, with Wildwood matching another $5.95 million, city officials said in a recent statement.
Both the boardwalk’s surface and supports beneath the wooded beams have been considered by officials to be in a dire state of decay. Lawmakers, in recent years, conferred with local leaders in attempts to secure funding to replace the aging spans.
“We take a lot of pride in what we have here,” Troiano said. “It was tough when you had a boardwalk that looked like who did it and ran.”
Cumaru, also known as Brazilian teak, is commonly found in South America. It was recently considered to be endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, potentially leading to the wood trade to slow in the future.
Wildwood also used ipe, another Brazilian wood, on other sections of the boardwalk. The city steered away from using it again out of concerns from environmentalists, Troiano said.
Rich Harron, Wildwood’s superintendent of public works, said the wood isn’t as hollow as other types on the market. Its reddish-brown tint has intrigued Jersey Shore enthusiasts and locals, but that color should fade relatively quickly, officials said.
Important to officials is the wood has fewer “knots” in the pieces. Throughout the boardwalk, knots, a term to describe points on wood that lift off of the surface, can be found, creating a safety risk for those walking by.
“It’s a failure point,” Harron said.
The repairs follow what local officials say was a record-breaking summer tourist season for Wildwood.
The Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority recently reported that tourism revenue for lodging and prepared food and beverage, a key revenue driver, was 31% higher in 2023 than the five-year average tourism revenues.
The 2020 pandemic season numbers were not used in this comparison.
“The Wildwoods continue to perform well above industry benchmarks for tourism growth each year by developing strategic marketing and public relations initiatives aimed at communicating the major attributes that have made the Wildwoods a truly unique family vacation destination,” said Louis Belasco, executive director for the authority.
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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
