Posted on December 13, 2023
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District has begun Stage 13 of a periodic beach nourishment project at Surfside-Sunset Beach.
The construction contract was awarded to Manson Construction in October, and work began in late November. The cost of the project is $23.13 million.
For Stage 13, about 1.1 million cubic yards of sand is being placed on the Surfside Beach area. The proposed beach will be about 4,500 feet in length, and between 350 and 900 feet in width. Additionally, about 100,000 cubic yards will be backpassed from Newport Beach. The borrow site will be adjacent to the Santa Ana River.
The sand will be deposited along a stretch of beach south of the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach and is then expected by way of natural currents to move south to Huntington, Bolsa Chica and Newport Beach.
The Corps’ is working alongside several partners in the project, including the California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways; Orange County; Cities of Newport, Huntington and Seal beaches; and Surfside Colony Storm Water Protection District.
Construction is estimated to conclude by the end of February 2024.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, along with its contractor, Manson Construction, begins preparing Surfside Beach Dec. 7 for Stage 13 of the Surfside-Sunset Beach Replenishment Project near Seal Beach, California.
“From coordination and planning to execution, and soon, project completion, this is a team effort and a collective victory for the Corps and our local, state and federal partners,” said Susie Ming, chief of the Corps’ Los Angeles District Coastal Section. “This teamwork helps ensure these beachside communities stay protected from coastal erosion for years to come.”
The overall project, called the Surfside-Sunset Beach-Newport Beach (San Gabriel River to Newport Bay) Shore Protection Project, CA – also referred to as the Surfside-Sunset Sand Replenishment project – received $15.5 million in federal funding from the fiscal year 2022 Omnibus Work Plan budget.
The project is designed as remediation for beach erosion damage largely incident to federal flood control, navigation and defense projects, with the mitigation meant to last as long as necessary.
The project is intended to provide periodic beach nourishment of about 1.8 million cubic yards of sand every five years, restoring 17 miles of coastline, from the mouth of the San Gabriel River down coast to the Newport Bay Harbor entrance.
