Section of Ocean City Boardwalk Damaged by Trash Truck

A small section of the Ocean City Boardwalk collapsed on Sunday under the weight of an  Ocean City municipal trash truck.

Photos showed the trash truck's rear left wheel had sunk through the broken boards and had to be reinforced with long planks of wood to make sure it didn't sink any lower.

The area was later surrounded by cones as workers determined the best way to get the truck off the boardwalk without any further damage. The incident had some on social media questioning why a vehicle as heavy as a trash truck would be on the boardwalk to begin with.

City spokesman Doug Bergen said the damage was confined to “a couple of pieces of Boardwalk decking” near 12th Street.

The Section of Boardwalk is Being Redecked

The trash truck broke through the boards at 12th Street, part of an area scheduled to be reinforced and redecked in an ongoing construction project between 12th and 14th Streets, Bergen said.

By the time I made it up to the Ocean City Boardwalk on Monday afternoon, much of the 12th Street Boardwalk was closed and fenced off, and many of the boards had been pulled up in preparation for the reinforcement work.

The stores along 12th Street were still open, though, with the fencing leaving adequate room for business to go on and walkers to get by.

The Boardwalk’s reconstruction between 12th and 14th streets should be finished within a couple of weeks, Doug Berman told OCNJDaily.

Mayor Jay A. Gillian has said the project is being completed in stages to leave the Boardwalk open throughout.

Another Boardwalk project, from 14th Street to 16th Street, is scheduled for the fall, according to Gillian. He said the improvements are being funded largely by a $4.9 million Boardwalk Preservation Fund grant.