Gov. John Carney, Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, all D-Del., announced the impending launch of beach nourishment projects in Sussex County.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District awarded a $23.8 million contract to Weeks Marine of Cranford, New Jersey, to conduct periodic replenishment in Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, South Bethany and Fenwick Island.

The contract is a joint effort between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The cost will be shared by the federal government and the state of Delaware.

The work has been a priority of the congressional delegation because it will help protect the homes, businesses and economy of coastal communities.

The projects will dredge sand from offshore borrow sites, with the sand then pumped through pipes, placed on beaches and graded into an engineered dune template, designed to reduce damage from coastal storms.

Dunes and beach access points will be repaired in certain areas, but most of the work includes widening the beaches between dunes and shorelines.