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St. Johns County launching new beach restoration plan

By Cole Heath, Action News Jax
By Cole Heath, Action News Jax

St. Johns County needs almost 16,000 truckloads of sand to rebuild its beaches after Hurricane Matthew.

Crews will dredge that sand from the Intracoastal Waterway and St. Augustine Inlet.

Starting next month, the county, the Florida Inland Navigational District and the Army Corps of Engineers will begin dredging.

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“It will provide a lot of protection for the homeowners on the beach line,” County Public Works Director Neal Shinkre said. “It's pipelined in, it's been sucked from the inlet and pushed and pumped north and displaced.”

County officials say the project will cost between $3 million and $5 million using nontaxpayer funding, and wraps up in mid-May.

St. Johns County leaders will meet with homeowners affected by the hurricane Thursday to seek their permission to enter their property to complete the work.

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Statement from St. Johns County:

The Florida Inland Navigation District, the Army Corps of Engineers, and St. Johns County are hosting two workshops to discuss the upcoming St. Augustine Inlet and Intracoastal Waterway dredging projects at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 2 at the North Shores Improvement Association Community Center, 3101 First Street. Through the coordinated efforts of these agencies, the current navigation project would be modified and sand from the dredging projects would be diverted north of the St. Augustine Inlet, providing some relief for a portion of the Vilano/North Beach coastal shoreline significantly impacted by Hurricane Matthew. Modification of the project to the north sand placement is contingent on the homeowners and the County providing the necessary easements by March 13, 2017. The workshop will allow affected homeowners to ask questions regarding the project and provide required easements. For more information, please call 904-209-0794.

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