Major coastal restoration project starting in Palm Beach

The Town of Palm Beach (FL) is launching a significant coastal restoration effort as part of its overall Coastal Management Plan, with its first project beginning this week.

According to the Town, approximately 750,000 cubic yards of sand will be dredged offshore and placed on the beach in Reach 7, and over 20,000 cubic yards of this sand will be trucked to Reaches 8 and 9 to rebuild dunes.

“Beach renourishment projects like this one are crucial to protect property and infrastructure and provide critical habitat for sea turtles and other marine life. Our beach and dune system are our first line of defense in sustaining our island for the future,” explained Melissa Ceriale, Chairman of the Town of Palm Beach Shore Protection Board.

The Coastal Management Plan provides a strategic framework for implementing beach renourishment projects and other measures to combat erosion.

The Phipps project, part of the Coastal Management Plan, will take approximately ten weeks in 2025. For the project, Great Lake Dredge & Dock will collect sand from an offshore borrow area and pump it through pipes to the beach, where it is spread and shaped by heavy machinery.

During the project, a stockpile of sand will be generated from the dredging of the offshore borrow areas. This material will then be transported by trucks and used to rebuild dunes.

Beach renourishment will occur from Phipps Ocean Park to the Ambassador Hotel, and dunes will be rebuilt from Sloan’s Curve to Phipps Ocean Park and Lake Worth Beach to Lantana Municipal Beach.

The Town will also construct a sand forepassing project in Reaches 1 and 2 in early 2025 ahead of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging of the Lake Worth Inlet.