Army Corps estimates May 2024 start for dune project

The project needs one million more cubic yards in sand, plus more access easements for work crews.

SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER

The United States Army Corps of Engineers project in Flagler Beach could begin in May 2024, using four times as much sand as originally expected in 2014.

County Engineer Faith Alkhatib and Jason Harrah, a senior planner with the Army Corps, gave a joint update on the beach renourishment project at a Flagler County Commission meeting on May 1.

A new, tentative schedule is in place, but because continued erosion has degraded the original work staging areas, more temporary construction easements are needed before work can begin.

The Corps of Engineers originally planned to stage equipment at the water tower in Flagler Beach, Harrah said, but Hurricanes Ian and Nicole have eroded that area, and it is no longer accessible for equipment.

“Now, at extremely low tide you have 3 or 4 feet of water hitting the edge of the dune,” Harrah said. “Plus, there’s about a 10-foot vertical drop there that wasn’t there before.”

To avoid damaging equipment, the Corps will need to build up the beach with sand fill just to access the southern portion of the project.

The county will bear 100% of that cost, Harrah said, because the contract requires the county to provide access to the land.

The Corps of Engineers provided several options for staging at the southern edge of the project, but Alkhatib said the best option for the county will likely be to get temporary staging access from the Pebble Beach Homeowners Association and build up the beach from there.

The county will also need a temporary construction access easement from properties along the north side of the county.

Not including the staging costs, the project totals almost $32.3 million, of which the county is responsible for $11.3 million.

The county has $14.3 million in grant money that will cover that portion, but the Pebble Beach staging option will cost an additional $5.5 million.

In total, the county will need to find almost $2.5 million to cover the rest of the construction staging costs.

If everything goes as planned, the new tentative construction start date will be May 2024 with construction complete by January 2025, depending on weather.

But the schedule can’t be finalized, Harrah said, until the Corps of Engineers has the easements it needs for the staging area.

The Army Corps project has been in the works for over 20 years now: An initial study for the project began in 2002.

The project was first approved in 2014 to place 330,000 cubic yards of sand on a 2.6-mile stretch in Flagler Beach, from 6th Street to 28th Street. Since then, the county has experienced five major hurricanes and continued erosion.

Before the renourishment project could begin, the county needed to obtain access easements for all of the properties along the length of the project.

Some property owners resisted signing, and the county didn’t secure the final easement until April 2023.

By The Numbers

2.6 miles the total length of the Army Corps project in Flagler Beach

1.3 million cubic yards the amount of sand needed to bring the dunes to 19 feet in height and add a 40-60-foot berm down to sea level.

$32,243,000

The total cost of the project, without the added staging area Sixty-