Construction starts soon for Surfside Beach renourishment

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District
Published Aug. 7, 2019
Surfside beach

Surfside beach

Summary: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, announces that construction mobilization will begin tomorrow for the $17.9 million Surfside beach renourishment project, part of the Miami-Dade County Beach Erosion Control and Hurricane Protection Project.

The project will renourish critically eroded shoreline in Surfside, using trucks to haul beach-quality sand from the Vulcan Witherspoon Mine, an upland sand mine near Moore Haven, Florida. A total of 330,000 cubic yards of sand will be placed seaward of the dunes throughout the Town’s limits, from 87th Terrace to 96th Street.

The contractor, Continental Heavy Civil Corp, will begin to mobilize on site tomorrow and install seismographs to monitor vibration throughout the construction phase. Sand placement on the beach is expected to start next week. Construction is scheduled to be complete by mid-April 2020.

Continental Heavy Civil Corp will begin construction on the south end of the project, and work toward the north.

The tentative summer schedule is Monday through Thursday from 7 am to 7 pm; Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Construction is prohibited on Sundays and select holidays. Winter hours may vary due to daylight savings time.

“Beach renourishment protects infrastructure from seasonal storms and hurricanes, supports the economy, preserves wildlife and promotes coastal resilience,” said Brian Choate, Corps project manager.

Stringent precautions and daily protection measures will be implemented during sea turtle nesting season, in partnership with the Miami-Dade County Sea Turtle Conservation Program staff. Miami Dade County staff reports that turtle nesting is slowing down, and there are not any nests currently in the construction area. After daily environmental species monitoring and sea turtle nest relocations have been completed and the area has been cleared, beach work will commence. However, operations in the area delineated by the turtle observer will cease if sea turtles are present at any time.

Due to safety concerns, some beach access areas will be closed during the day. The public will still have access to the beach, however there will be restrictions in some areas during construction. Motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and beachgoers are asked to use caution, obey signage and directions from flagmen, and to expect some additional truck traffic on the roads, access and staging areas, and the beach.

This renourishment project is 100 percent federally funded via the Bipartisan Budget Act 0f 2018 (Public Law 115-123).

Project updates will be available on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website at:  www.saj.usace.army.mil/surfside/ and on social media at the Jacksonville District U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleDistrict/ and Twitter @JaxStrong.


Contact
Erica Skolte
561-801-5734 (cell)
Erica.A.Skolte@usace.army.mil

Release no. 19-052