dozer in surf

Crews planned to use two excavators to pull the dozer forward as the tide receded, according to the contractor. No one was hurt.

INDIAN RIVER INLET, Del.-  A piece of heavy equipment used in DNREC’s sand bypass project has been moved underneath the Indian River Inlet bridge after being partially submerged Monday.

A dozer owned by contractor First State Crane Service became disabled around midday March 23 on the Northside beach of the Indian River Inlet, according to DNREC.

The contractor told CoastTV the dozer was not stuck, but stopped moving after a computer error code. The contractor said the engine remained running, though the machine would not move forward or in reverse. 

Crews used two excavators to pull the dozer forward as the tide receded, according to the contractor. No one was hurt, and there were no leaks of any kind. 

Officials said the incident occurred within the active sand bypass work zone, where sand pumping resumed March 17 as part of ongoing beach and dune nourishment efforts at the inlet and will continue through mid-May.

DNREC says the contractor plans to have a new dozer on site in the immediate future and that sand bypass system pumping operations were not affected by today’s situation.

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Evening Broadcast Journalist

Madeleine has been with Draper Media since 2016, when she first worked as Sussex County Bureau Chief. She helped launch the rebranded CoastTV in 2019. As co-anchor of CoastTV News at 5 and 6, Maddie helps organize the evening newscasts and performs managerial responsibilities such as helping find and assign stories, approving scripts, and making content decisions.

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