Flagler County’s contractor for $3.67 million Hurricane Dorian dunes restoration project from south MalaCompra Park to north Washington Oaks Gardens State Park mobilized on Monday and construction will begin on Wednesday.
“We are very excited to get this project underway,” said County Engineer Faith Alkhatib. “They are anticipating completing this project this Spring ahead of turtle nesting season (April 15), but the daily surveys can be completed as needed should construction go beyond the current schedule.”
Additionally, daily shorebird surveys conducted by the Atlantic Ecological Services, beginning March 1, will not be impacted.
The project will restore 8,350 linear feet of Atlantic shoreline with about 49,500 cubic yards of beach-compatible material from approved upland sand mines and hauled by truck. Daily work will take place from dawn to dusk Monday through Friday, and will begin at the southern project boundary working north. Staging and access will be at MalaCompra Park for the first half of the project and then it will shift north to Washington Oaks for the second half of the project.
“Planting dune vegetation – 60,500 plantings – will be installed along the renourished dune,” Alkhatib said. “All the work being done, of course, is properly permitted and in compliance with Environmental Protection.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is covering 75% of the $3.67 million project funding and the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) are covering the 25% local match.
Flagler County is the permittee. Eastman Aggregate Enterprises is the contractor and turbidity monitor. Olsen Associates is the engineer. Construction oversight is being handled by Eisman & Russo, FDEP, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
“We know there will be some inconvenience associated with this project, so please be patient,” Alkhatib said. “We have been waiting a long time to get this project underway and we are glad this day is here.”
Thomas Kaspar says
Cancun replenishes its beach in strong current all the time with a a Suction Dredger that was built in 1998 (25 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Netherlands.
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:264519/mmsi:245992000/imo:9164110/vessel:VOLVOX_TERRANOVA#Summary
Uwe Ross says
I find it interesting that this is the “Hurricane Dorian dunes restoration project”. If I remember correctly, Dorian was in 2019 and didn’t actually breech the dunes. In fact, we didn’t have a significant breech until this year, with the double-whammy of Ian and Nicole. Flagler County’s dunes would likely have held up this year if the damage from Dorian had been addressed in a more timely manner.