Jacksonville, FL — The US Army Corps of Engineers-Jacksonville District has awarded a more than $15.6 million contract to help protect Duval County's shores.
According to the US Army Corps of Engineers, the project will include placing roughly 850,000 cubic yards of sand on about 8 miles of eroded beaches in Duval County, including Jacksonville, Neptune, and Atlantic beaches. The project will also cover the southern mile of Hanna Park.
According to Jason Harrah, a project manager with the US Army Corps of Engineers, they hope to get this project underway in mid-October.
Harrah says the goal of the project is to restore critically eroded beaches to their original design, which helps protect the shoreline-- and nearby homes and businesses-- from tropical storms and hurricanes.
Manson Construction Company of Seattle, Washington, has been awarded the contract, with a completion date set for winter 2018.
“The beaches that we build, they’re built to sacrifice themselves. The sand is meant to wash out to sea to dissipate some of that wave energy and that storm surge that comes from a hurricane-type of event,” explains Harrah.
In addition, the project is also expected to be good for wildlife, as it restores critical habitat for shorebird and marine turtle nesting.
The US Army Corps of Engineers says the project is 100% federally funded via the Flood Control and Coastal Emergency Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.
Related to this project, the US Army Corps of Engineers says the City of Jacksonville has fully funded an additional $1.7 million to renourish portions of dunes from St. Johns County to Atlantic Beach and up to Hanna Park.
When this project gets underway, Harrah says beach-goers and neighbors should expect to see about 500-foot to 1,000-foot sections of the beach closed, as sand is being placed. The US Army Corps of Engineers hopes to release a weekly map of projected beach closures as the project gets underway.