"Anyone traveling the length of the Boardwalk must exit at 14th Street and return at 17th Street." Mayor Jay Gillian wrote that in his Oct. 16 message, published by OCNJ Daily. The same week, he said the rebuild from 14th Street to 16th Street had begun and was "already making great progress."
For most of the year, the Boardwalk feels like one structure. In 2026 it is being rebuilt in sections, and each section is built a different way. Walk from St. Charles Place to 17th Street this month and you cross three of them in a row. The north end is finished. The 12th-to-14th stretch was redecked while people kept walking on it. The 14th-to-16th stretch is closed for a full rebuild. Together they show how the city replaces a wooden boardwalk that is about two and a half miles long without taking it away from the town.
| Stretch | Type of work | Stayed open? | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles Place to Fifth Street | Full replacement of substructure and decking | No | Decking and concrete finished by March 20, 2026, then railings |
| 12th Street to 14th Street | Reinforcement and redecking | Yes, open the whole time | Done in three passes, storefront side first |
| 14th Street to 16th Street | Full rebuild | No, detour from 14th to 17th | Demolition expected done Oct. 23; construction scheduled for the following week |
The North End Shows the Finished Product
Start at the top of the island. The stretch from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street was the first of this year's rebuilds and the most complete. According to the city's capital project updates page, crews replaced the substructure and the decking, and the city kept one section of the old ipe decking.
The contract came in with a bid price of $4.3 million. It included a new lamppost system that lets the city control how bright the Boardwalk is lit, the Ocean City Sentinel reported in February. The city also asked to light the block from St. James Place to St. Charles Place. That block was outside the project area, and the request was meant to finish off the north end of the boardwalk.
By the first day of spring, the mayor said decking and concrete work were complete from St. Charles Place to Fifth Street and railings were going up, according to OCNJ Daily. So the north end has now been through a full summer as a new structure. It is the clearest look at what the 14th-to-16th stretch is meant to become: new boards on a new substructure, with lighting the city can turn up or down.
Brown's Restaurant is at St. Charles Place, on the finished section. It is listed in the Boardwalk directory on the city's Ocean City Vacation site.
12th to 14th Street Was Rebuilt Without Closing
Walk south past the Music Pier and downtown, and the second stage starts at 12th Street. This stretch looks finished too, but it was done a different way.
The city did not close it. Crews reinforced and redecked 12th to 14th Street in three lengthwise passes. They did the side nearest the storefronts first, then the middle, and finally the side nearest the beach. The mayor's March 20 message said this pattern "will allow the Boardwalk to remain open at all times."
That choice matters most to the businesses on these blocks, because their doors face the boards. The visitor-site directory lists several of them along this stretch and just north of it:
- Congo Falls Miniature Golf, 1132 Boardwalk
- Clancy's By The Sea, 1244 Boardwalk
- Cafe Beach Club, 1282 Boardwalk
- Aloha Soft Serve, 1320 Boardwalk
- Angelo's Pizzeria & Family Restaurant, 1328 Boardwalk
- Ike's Famous Crabcakes, 1344 Boardwalk
- Heritage Surf & Sport, 1368 Boardwalk
The 1300 block is the last stretch of boards before the 14th Street exit. That puts Aloha Soft Serve, Angelo's, Ike's and Heritage Surf & Sport at the edge of the detour. Shop schedules vary in the off-season, and the visitor site says some restaurants, arcades and boutiques stay open from November to March.
14th to 16th Street Got the North End Treatment
At 14th Street, the walk ends and the third stage begins. This stretch is not being redecked in passes like 12th to 14th. It is closed and being rebuilt.
- March 20, 2026: The mayor said the 14th-to-16th rebuild was planned for the fall.
- After Columbus Day: The capital project page set the start for after the October holiday.
- Week of Oct. 12: The Oct. 16 message said work had begun and set the 14th-to-17th detour.
- Oct. 23: Demolition was expected to finish that day, with "all the material" in place for construction to start the next week.
The first week was demolition and site setup. Building the new structure was scheduled to start the week of Oct. 26, once the old deck was gone, behind the same 14th-to-17th detour.
Why the Work Happens While Residents Have the Boards to Themselves
The timing of each stretch follows the calendar. The north end was rebuilt over the winter and was getting its railings by the start of spring. The city's project page described the 14th-to-16th job as one that "will take place after summer 2026." In both cases, the closures fall in the months between Labor Day and Easter. That is the same stretch of the year when the visitor site says many Boardwalk businesses shift to off-season schedules.
The money follows the same plan. In his Oct. 23 message, the mayor called 14th to 16th Street "the third section of the Boardwalk we've been able to rebuild using a $4.9 million dollar grant." The grant is the state's Boardwalk Preservation Fund. The city's 2024 to 2028 capital budget presentation lists it at $4,859,175 from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. The DCA's 2023 announcement describes the Boardwalk fund as a state-run program paid for with federal American Rescue Plan recovery money. The city's bid notice for the 14th-to-16th work names the same grant program and the same federal source.
The Sentinel reported in February that money from the fund would go to the north-end project and then to the 14th-to-16th rebuild "this fall," according to city spokesman Doug Bergen. The two full rebuilds share the same grant, the same approach and the same off-season timing. The 12th-to-14th redecking, done in passes and never closed, was a separate project.
Riding or Walking It End to End This Month
The detour is the only thing that changes an off-season walk or ride. Bicycles are generally allowed on the Boardwalk all day in the off-season, according to the Ocean City Police FAQ. The daily 5 a.m. to noon limit applies only in summer, and in 2026 it ran from June 19 to Sept. 7. The mayor's instruction applies to "anyone traveling the length of the Boardwalk." So a rider coming south from the 1300 block gets off at 14th Street, takes the streets for three blocks, and gets back on at 17th.
A full loop from the north end goes like this. Start on the new boards and lighting at St. Charles Place. Head south through downtown. Cross the redecked 12th-to-14th stretch past the 1200 and 1300 blocks. Leave the boards at 14th Street and come back up at 17th. Along the way you see the whole rebuild cycle on one walk: work finished last spring, work done while the boards stayed open, and the section under construction now.
If the 14th Street detour has you thinking about the blocks around this stretch of the Boardwalk, The Anchor Group works on these streets every season and can tell you how the Boardwalk work fits into the blocks you care about. Get a Free Home Valuation or Start Your Shore Search with us.
