Some Avalon Beaches Temporarily Close Due To Dangerous Drop Offs

AVALON, N.J., (CBS) -- Avalon has reopened a portion of the beach that was closed over the weekend after high tide carved out cliffs of sand as steep as five feet.

The erosion stretched down the beach from 9th to 24th Street.

The beach is back open, but not without the help of heavy equipment early Monday morning.

Chopper 3 over Avalon Monday morning shows workers re-grading the beach after weekend erosion forced beach patrol to shut down the north end beaches.

Marie Robb watched the erosion happen.

"I was out at low tide earlier then came back to the house, then went back in the afternoon," said Robb.

And when she did, this is what Robb and other beachgoers saw. A five-foot drop off.

"It was about as tall as me," said Robb.

"It's just a, it's a cliff, it's just a wall of sand."

The erosion stretched a mile along Avalon's north end, exposed this pipe and quickly became the talk of the town.

Avalon just finished a massive beach refill project where they brought in new sand. For two days there were persistent northeasterly winds which basically came in, sent the waves crashing into the new sand, and sending it down south.

"Public works came out early Monday morning before the crowds started coming to the beach and took their loaders and began to knock down the beach in the form that gradual slope. So right now it's safe, people are in the water, and it's always safety when it comes to a day at the beach," said Avalon spokesperson Scott Wahl.

How will Avalon officials get the sand back in place?

"Any sand that was displaced by the natural scarping from the wind will wind up on south end beaches and Avalon is progressive to the point where we do some back passing projects in the winter where we take the sand that was in the north end that washes south and mechanically relocate it back to the north end where it belongs," said Wahl.