Posted on February 26, 2024
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The St. Johns County Commission awarded the North Ponte Vedra Beach renourishment project to a company and work is expected to begin on March 1.
The project will cover nine miles of beach from the Duval County line and down south to the Guana Preserve.
Weeks Marine was awarded the bid for $36 million and the county will add another $2.5 million to the project to a total budget of $38.6 million.
The preparation work will start around March 1 and the dredging tubes will start applying sand around April 1.
The project will add two billion cubic feet of sand in what will be a 24/7 operation into late August. Some beaches will be closed, including Mickler’s Landing, which could be closed for several weeks during the project as the crew will need the area for storage, mobilization, and demobilization activities.
The project will reconstruct dunes 13 to 18 feet and will add 40 to 180 feet in beach width. The contractors will use easements from property owners. Out of 272 owners, 241 have already granted contractors access to the work.
St. Johns County is also embarking on a comprehensive vulnerability assessment, in keeping with the guidelines established by Resilient Florida.
The assessment will focus on about 22,000 assets of critical infrastructure in the county, from the beaches inland to the St Johns River. Projections will be made on 35 flooding scenarios. Those include 100-year and 500-year rainfall flood events and a 100-year storm surge event.
