An $18 million project to restore sand to 3.5 miles of beaches, from Port Canaveral’s Jetty Park to south of Cocoa Beach Pier, is moving forward.
Dredging and beach fill works, conducted by Norfolk Dredging, resumed on December 30 and will continue mostly uninterrupted through April, excepting rough seas and equipment maintenance.
Beach fill placement is proceeding southward from the northern end of the City of Cape Canaveral beach and is expected to reach the area around Cherie Down Park (Washington Avenue) by the last week of January.
Image source: olsen-associates.com
Olsen Associates Inc., a Jacksonville-based coastal engineering firm has been contracted by the port to provide consulting services for the project.
The dredger Charleston recently completed sand placement along Jetty Park and through about 1500-feet south of the inlet’s jetty.
Sand Bypass Project
The Canaveral Harbor Federal Sand Bypass Project (Phase V) will pump sand taken from the shoreline north of Port Canaveral along Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to beaches south of the Canaveral Inlet, from Jetty Park to a half-mile south of the Cocoa Beach Pier.
Locally sponsored by the Canaveral Port Authority, the $18 million federally-authorized project is scheduled to last through late April 2019.
Work was deliberately scheduled to take place between late November through April to avoid sea turtle nesting season.
This is the fifth construction of the sand bypass project since its inception in 1995. The sand placement will initially widen the beach by about 150 feet, after which the sand will drift southward, maintaining Brevard’s beaches at their historical dimensions.