With the end of sea turtle nesting season, and shorelines still chewed up from hurricanes Irma and Dorian, beach replenishment projects are cranking up throughout Brevard County, with sand being trucked into the Mid-Reach area of Satellite and Indian Harbour beaches.
Pumping for the Mid-Reach sand from the Canaveral Shoals – the traditional collection point of ocean sand for replenishment projects such as Cocoa Beach – began in late November. The sand is being staged between the north and south Spessard Holland Parks in Melbourne Beach. Trucking will begin in mid-December and be completed by May, said Mike McGarry, program manager for the Beaches, Boating and Waterways section of the Brevard County Natural Resource Management Department.
The 7.8-mile Mid-Reach, which runs from Pineda Causeway southward to Flug Avenue, will receive 350,000 cubic yards of sand by truck to minimize burial of nearshore rock reefs. The cost: $20.5 million.
To compensate for the estimated 3 acres of Mid-Reach reefs that will be impacted, 10 artificial reef sites have been constructed on 4.8 acres from Pelican Beach Park to just south of Howard E. Futch Memorial Park at Paradise Beach.
Winter resident Jim Cowan stood south of the sand pump work site at South Spessard Holland Park, showing his young grandsons several pieces of heavy equipment on the large operation. The trio, and all beachgoers, were not allowed to pass by the temporary sand pile and heavy equipment for safety reasons.
“I know the beaches mean big money to this county (as a tourism and resident draw), but it’s like having a nice hotel. If you never do any maintenance, eventually nobody will want to come stay there,” he said.
As for the beach walkers upset at the interruption in their daily routines, Cowan, a former police officer, said the temporary site indeed could pose a safety hazard and they should “walk the other way” for now.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is constructing three project areas as a single construction contract: the South Reach and Mid-Reach with Brevard County as the local sponsor, and Patrick Air Force Base on behalf of the Air Force.
South Reach, including the towns of Indialantic and Melbourne Beach, spans 3.8 miles and will receive 500,000 cubic yards of sand at a cost of approximately $10.5 million, fully funded by the federal government in response to Hurricane Irma.
The Air Force-funded Patrick Air Force Base project is placing 375,000 cubic yards of sand along the full 3.7 miles of base shoreline, at a cost of approximately $7.5 million.
Brevard County is also doing an emergency dune project in the South Beaches to place 98,500 cubic yards of sand along the eroded dune face to repair erosion caused by Hurricane Dorian between Spessard Holland Park and Sebastian Inlet State Park. The $4.5 million cost is being funded by the Tourism Development bed tax on short-term rentals, with partial reimbursement to be sought from FEMA.
All sand placement is expected to be completed by May 7, 2020.
For a weekly construction update, call 321637-5374 or visit the website https://www.brevardfl.gov/NaturalResources/Beaches
