Brevard County Beaches Replace Sand Lost to Hurricanes

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District announced the Brevard County Shore Protection Project got underway on February 1. Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company was awarded a $17.5 contract to remove approximately 1.1 million cubic yards of sand from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regulated offshore Canaveral Shoals Borrow Area II. A total of 13.4 miles of shoreline will be renourished, with 825,000 cubic yards of sand placed on North Cocoa and Cape Canaveral beaches, and 397,000 cubic yards placed on the Indialatic and Melbourne beaches.

Brevard County beaches were last renourished in 2014. Beaches are scheduled for this work every five to six years, but Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma in 2017 expedited the replenishment schedule. The project will restore the shoreline back to its designed level of storm protection to reduce damage to property and infrastructure and maintain the beaches’ use for recreation and wildlife habitat.

The project is 100 percent federally funded with work slated for completion by April 1.