Posted on March 7, 2022
It’s time to dredge the St. Lucie Inlet again. The project got underway this week.
“The impoundment basin is full,” said Martin County Coastal Engineering Project Manager Jessica Garland. “Material has started creeping into the navigation channel.” The dredging is required by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection under the St. Lucie Inlet Management Plan. It’s important work that needs to be done about every 3 years she said because “clearing the sand is keeping the channel navigable and safe.”
The inlet lies between the barrier islands of Hutchinson Island to the north and Jupiter Island to the south. It’s a key waterway providing access to the Atlantic for Martin County boaters and fisherman, as well commercial traffic. The St. Lucie Inlet is the east coast end of a cross state corridor allowing boaters and barge traffic to travel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic .
The sand that’s piled up in the inlet since the last dredging will be used to restore the beach at the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park and other area beaches. “The state park has not had sand placed on their park since the early nineties,” said Garland. “So the sand is greatly needed. They have lost quit a few feet of beach over the last couple of decades.”
Weeks Marine was awarded the $11.3 million dollar contract to remove 475-thousand cubic yards of sand. Equipment including a dredge, tug boats, support vessels and submerged and floating pipeline will be used for the duration of the project. The dredge will operate 24 hours a day unless weather or mechanical problems cause a delay.
When dredging is underway, boaters are reminded to observe slow speed minimum wake requirements when traveling through inlet. The dredge will operate 24 hours a day unless there are unforeseen delays such as weather or mechanical problems.
Residents can following the progress of the dredging online at – https://www.martin.fl.us/st-lucie-inlet
The project is expected to be completed by April 30.
