Posted on July 12, 2016
By Camila Cepero, Miami Today News
The US Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville District has awarded a Florida small business an almost $12 million contract to renourish and widen beaches at two Miami Beach hotspots near 46th Street and 54th Street.
Eastman Aggregate Enterprises LLC of Lake Worth was awarded the $11,889,480.65 contract last Thursday to focus on more than 3,000 feet of critically eroded shoreline.
In 1968, Congress authorized the US Army Corps of Engineers to construct the Dade County Beach Erosion Control and Hurricane Protection Project after county officials requested federal assistance with shore erosion.
With the completion of a nourishment contract in the Bal Harbour area in 2014, all major sand sources offshore of Miami-Dade County were exhausted.
As a result, the 220,000 cubic yards of sand needed for the Miami Beach Hotspots project will come from an upland sand mine and be hauled in by the truckloads – between 18,500 and 22,000 of them.
“The Miami Beach Hotspots contract was set aside for small business, as part of the Jacksonville District’s longstanding commitment to advocate for and utilize small businesses to help achieve our missions,” said Erica Skolte of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville District South Florida Restoration Office.
“By building and preserving the small business industrial base, we are able to contribute to diversity, competition, economic growth, and our national security.”
Bids were due June 14 and there was healthy competition for the contract, she said, with The Corps receiving eight bids.
The crown of the 46th Street erosional hotspot fill area will begin just north of 44th Street, near the southern end of the Fontainebleau Hotel, 4441 Collins Ave., and end between the twin towers of the Blue and Green Diamond Condominiums, 4775 Collins Ave. The access route and staging area – for construction equipment, crews and trucks hauling sand – will be at Indian Beach Park, 4601 Collins Ave.
The crown of the 54th Street erosional hotspot fill area will begin at the south end of the Carriage House Condominium, 5401 Collins Ave., and end near the northerly end of the Castle Beach Condominium, 5445 Collins Ave. The access route and staging area will be at Beach View Park, 5301 Collins Ave.
“The renourished beach will help protect infrastructure, including iconic, historically and architecturally significant buildings on South Beach,” said project manager Laurel Reichold in a statement.
“The Corps builds beaches to protect infrastructure, preserve wildlife, support the economy, and build coastal resiliency,” Ms. Reichold said. “Widening the beach to about 230 feet also improves habitat for sea turtle nesting.”
The beach will still be accessible by the public at both locations during the work, though some beach access areas will be closed due to safety concerns. Orange fencing and barricades will mark construction areas; beachgoers should use caution around these areas.
Fill operations, tilling, demobilization and restoration of the 46th Street access is scheduled to be complete by Nov. 9, with the remainder of the project expected to be completed by spring 2017.
The public can attend an informational meeting at the Ronald Shane Center at 6500 Indian Creek Drive, Miami Beach, at 6 p.m. July 12. The meeting will be hosted by the US Army Corps of Engineers, Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Beach. A brief presentation will be followed by questions and answers.
Source: Miami Today News
