Construction of Roosevelt Inlet’s jetties

This 1994 aerial photograph shows construction of the jetties at Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes.

According to an Aug. 19, 1994, article in the Cape Gazette, the contractor laid 1,730 tons of stone for the east jetty and 25,230 tons for the west jetty. Upon completion of the work, only the Beach Plum Island jetty stood above water level. The contract for the work was awarded in the fall of 1993. The purpose was to correct serious erosion and shoaling problems at the inlet.

As part of the project, a larger parking area at the end of Cedar Street was created. But the project did not solve the inlet’s problems.

Another project in 2004 raised the level of the southern jetty, creating the Roosevelt Inlet boaters and beachgoers know today. That project added more than 21,000 tons of stone to the 550-foot jetty. The inlet was dredged as part of both projects, with the sand pumped onto Lewes Beach in front of Lewes Yacht Club and farther east.