The cost of rebuilding the Belmar boardwalk is actually coming in under initial estimates. 

Construction of the Belmar boardwalk
Construction of the Belmar boardwalk (Facebook)
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Mayor Matt Doherty tells Townsquare Media  that published reports saying they would be paying more due to an issue with their engineering firm, are erroneous.

In a press release, Doherty explains that the bid to rebuild the boardwalk was put out quickly in order to take advantage of pricing and the availability of material to make sure the work was done by summer. An average of 25' was used for bidding purposes and variations in the width were anticipated.

The overall total area of 215,000 square feet remains unchanged.

Birdsall Engineering Chief Administrative Office Scott McFadden says changes were made to the original design to improve the look of the new boardwalk by giving it a tweed pattern and changing the material being used to Trex, a wood alternative.

The budget for the project was $16.935 million and McFadden says the work will still come in under budget.

It is still anticipated the work will be done by April 30.

Jason Allentoff contributed to this story.

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