A contract has been awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District to conduct beach renourishment as part of a 50-year project to combat erosion. The Corps awarded the contract to Weeks Marine, a firm based out of Jacksonville, for a $27 million payout.
The initial steps in the Coastal Storm Risk Management Beach Renourishment, Flagler County's most ambitious-ever environmental project, are at last soon to begin now that the personnel are in place to carry out the opening stages of work. Renourishment will be conducted over 3.5 miles of coastline in total, combining the primary area of the project and some additional areas of work outside that stretch.
“This has been a long process, and we are extremely grateful to the Army Corps (ACOE) for their diligent work on our behalf,” said County Administrator Heidi Petito in a written statement. “They are also providing 65% of the total project costs, and for that we are thankful for the 2.6-mile federal project (South 6th Street to South 28th Street in Flagler Beach) as it is defined ‘critically eroded Atlantic shoreline.’”
The lion's share of the area being worked on is being funded by the Army Corps of Engineers, while a combination of county funding and state funds obtained by state Representative Paul Renner and state Senator Travis Hutson will cover the additional areas outside of where the federal government is covering.
The scope of the project will be to restore beach formations to their approximate shapes prior to Hurricane Matthew, which caused some of the most drastic erosion Flagler County has ever seen. The Army Corps is confident these new restorations will be resilient enough to handle hurricanes.
“The project will include construction and extension of the coastal dune and berm (open beach) based on pre-Hurricane Matthew dimensions,” the Army Corps said in a statement. “Native beach slopes and grades will be maintained, resulting in a wider beach berm for recreation and storm protection.”
Construction is set to begin in June with work going on around the clock and seven days a week. Staging points will be located at Veterans Park, 6th Street South, and to the south of the Pebble Beach Homeowners Association beachfront property, according to the county's statement on Monday.
