St. Lucie Inlet dredging starts

The St. Lucie Inlet dredging project is scheduled to begin this week, the Martin County Board of County Commissioners said.

Part of the St. Lucie Inlet Management Plan, the project is designed to keep the St. Lucie Inlet navigable at authorized depths.

The placement of the sand on adjacent beaches will help the county meet state requirements to address erosion impacts both north and south of the inlet.
 
Beneficial for Martin County’s commercial, sport and recreational boaters and our natural resources, the project addresses navigational safety and entails removing 475,000 cubic yards of sand that has been deposited in the inlet and transporting it to the beaches of the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park.
 
Equipment including a dredge, tug boats, support vessels and submerged and floating pipeline will be used for the duration of the project.

“During dredging operations, boaters are reminded to use caution while traveling the inlet and observe slow speed minimum wake requirements when in the vicinity of the dredge. The dredge will operate 24 hours a day unless there are unforeseen delays such as weather or mechanical problems,” said Martin County Board of County Commissioners.