Posted on June 23, 2025
Project to begin later this year
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A new beach project in Volusia County will use half a million cubic yards of sand to try to restore the coastline in the New Smyrna Beach area.
The Volusia County Council this week approved a $25.8 million project to place sand along the beach from Sapphire Road to unincorporated New Smyrna Beach.
The project, funded with a grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, is meant to replace sand lost during hurricanes in the last few years and fortify the coast against future storms.
The county says the sand will be taken from Rattlesnake Island and is beach-compatible. Once in place, crews will lay down native dune plants to help stabilize the beach.
The new project is especially important for property owners who are still trying to rebuild after the hurricanes. Many are currently using Trap Bags, which are large sandbags, to protect their homes.
“We put the trap bags in while Hurricane Nicole was hitting to save our house from collapsing,” said Teri Corbett, a local resident.
Before the storms in 2022, Corbett’s property looked very different.
“We had double dunes and palm trees. We had big coquina rocks that were on top of the dunes,” Corbett explained.
News 6 spoke with Corbett shortly after the 2022 hurricanes and showed her house. Recently, Corbett and her neighbors received approval to build a permanent seawall made of coquina rock. They will be the first in the city to rebuild with a natural seawall.
“We got it all approved. We just have to wait until the end of turtle season, so we’re riding it out this hurricane season with the trap bags again, and hopefully everything will be great,” Corbett said.
Private owners with beachfront property in the project area will need to submit an easement in order to have sand placed on their stretch of coastline.
To find out more about the easement process, contact Right of Way Manager Keith Koshiol at KKoshiol@volusia.org.
This will be the second major beach renourishment project starting this year along Volusia’s coast, aimed at repairing damage from hurricanes that have hit the area over the past three years.
The county says hurricanes and Nor’easters in recent years have caused the loss of more than 6.6 million cubic yards of sand along the coast.
“I think it’s going to be a great project for all of the homeowners and businesses along the beach just to have something to build these dunes back,” Corbett said.
To learn about other projects underway, head to the Volusia County website.
