The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, in partnership with the St. Lucie County Erosion District, will begin beach renourishment operations at Fort Pierce, Florida, on or about March 9, 2023.
USACE will place approximately 500,000 cubic yards of sand from authorized borrow areas off the coast of Fort Pierce Beach on approximately 1.3 miles of shoreline immediately south of Fort Pierce Inlet. Offloading of the sand will take place from inside the inlet’s south jetty. Operations are planned to be complete by mid-May.
The upcoming renourishment is the continuation of a federal shore protection project initially constructed in 1971 with an additional 12 periodic and emergency federal re-nourishments carried out since 1980. It is being executed under an $11.6 million contract awarded Jan. 12, 2023, to Manson Construction Co.
The federal project strengthens shoreline resilience and reduces storm damages to residential and commercial infrastructure, critical transportation arteries, developed land and coastal armor, and helps offset persistent coastal erosion impacts attributed to the inlet. It is 77.76 percent funded by the federal government and 22.24 percent funded by St. Lucie County.