VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Crews have been working to remove the dredging pipe off New Smyrna Beach after a major five-month-long sand replacement project. This is the second of two projects meant to replace sand lost in Volusia County during the 2022 hurricane season.
The massive equipment has been moved off the beach just in time for Memorial Day. The dredge in New Smyrna Beach is the second of two projects meant to replace the 6 million cubic yards of sand lost during Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022.
“This area 27th avenue is kind of notorious since the hurricanes for having a high tide that hit the seawalls,” said County Coastal Director Jessica Fentress.
Fentress said with all this sand back on the beach, that won’t be an issue anymore. Still, she reminds residents sand could wash away but that doesn’t mean it’s not doing its job.
“Sand is sacrificial. The reason we place sand on the beach is not only as a buffer from storm events on our shoreline but it also provides critical nesting habitats for our sea turtles and resting shore birds,” said Fentress.
The other dredge project that stretched from Ponce Inlet to Daytona Beach Shores wrapped up last fall, making our beaches bigger up and down the coastline. The state has spent 82 million dollars on recovery in Volusia County in response to the 2022 hurricanes and Fentress said more help is on the horizon.
“We are looking at options for an additional truck haul project south of where we finished the berm but we would not commit to that until we worked out the financials and none of that would begin until after November 1st when sea turtle nesting closes,” said Fentress.
The County also continues design and permitting efforts for the Shoals to Shores Project, which is anticipated to go out for bid in 2027 and is expected to place more than 1 million cubic yards of sand along shorelines north of Ponce Inlet.
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