Posted on June 12, 2024
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Beachgoers heading to Jacksonville Beach looking to beat the heat may need to find another spot to enjoy the sand.
On Sunday morning, crews moved equipment and barriers near the Jacksonville Beach Pier to keep beachgoers out of the construction zone for the ongoing renourishment project.
The Jacksonville Beach Pier is a popular place to lounge on the sand, but there are fewer spots to claim as crews continue work. It’s been about five weeks since the start of the Duval County Shore Protection Project, and it’s expected to continue for the next two months.
With temperatures in the 90s, hundreds of people are heading to the beach to cool off.
“I love the beach. It’s super important to me. I think it’s great for the tourists who get to come out here and experience it,” said Reid Johnson, a Jacksonville Beach native.
Audrey West has been vacationing in Jacksonville Beach for nearly two weeks, watching as crews moved sand dredged from the ocean floor onto the beach.
“Working hard, 24 hours a day, everybody taking care of everybody and making sure people don’t get hurt. And taking care of the beach,” West said.
The $32 million federally funded project started near the end of April, starting at 10th Avenue in Jacksonville Beach.
Crews are working in sections to reinforce 10 miles of the shoreline that officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers describe as critically eroded. Crews will close off 1,500-foot sections of the beach at a time.
Once completed, the beach will be broader and wider, something officials say will increase protection during hurricane season and help the ecosystem.
“I think it’s great that they’re re-doing the dune, the hurricanes in the previous, the ones we had actually messed up our dunes out here. So with them redoing it, I think it’s going to create a better system for us to have enough sand wave, especially with the surf as well. We’ll get better surf,” Johnson said.
Officials expect this renourishment project to wrap up in late August.
