Port Canaveral was the site for a conference that outlined plans to renourish Brevard County beaches as part of the Brevard County Shore Protection Project.
The pre-construction meeting was organized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the lead coordinator to provide details of the $17.4 million dollar project, which is expected to get underway in late January, 2018.
The Corps awarded the contract to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company of Oak Brook, IL to remove 1.172 million cubic yards from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regulated offshore Canaveral Shoals II Borrow area.
A total of 825,000 cubic yards will be placed in the North Reach area, which consists of beaches in North Cocoa Beach, and Cape Canaveral. The remaining 397,000 cubic yards will be placed in the South Reach area, which includes beaches in Indialantic and Melbourne Beach.
Beaches in Brevard County are routinely scheduled for full renourishment every 5-6 years, with the last project completed in 2014. Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Irma this year made it necessary for an expedited replenishment schedule for the South Reach, which was organized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in coordination with Brevard County.
Liz Fiocchi, Project Manager and Navigation Business Line Manager for the Jacksonville District said that plans are in place to get the project underway in late January 2018. “ This renourishment is to replace what was taken by the recent storms with the next full beach renourishment planned for 2021 or 2022.”
In addition to Port Canaveral staff and the Army Corps representatives, other officials participating in the conference included the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Canaveral Pilots Association, Brevard County, City of Cocoa Beach, Melbourne Beach, Indialantic and Cape Canaveral.
The project is estimated to be completed by April 30, 2018, prior to the commencement of turtle nesting season.