U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began mobilization Monday, Aug. 7, for the Vilano Beach Coastal Storm Risk Management Project.
The project contractor will start with mobilizing equipment to the Surfside Park staging area. A significant section of the parking area has been closed and fenced off to ensure public safety throughout the duration of the beach renourishment, which is scheduled for completion in March 2024.
The contractor will use the Surfside Park staging area to store equipment and materials; it will remain an active work zone. Public access to the beach will remain open in this area along with use of the restroom facilities. The public is urged to exercise caution while accessing the beach area as heavy equipment will exit and enter there.
Additionally, the contractor’s crew and Corps staff will use a parking lot off Euclid Avenue specially for parking and storing worker vehicles during construction. Caution in this vicinity is urged.
The dredge, which will deliver offshore sand for placement along Vilano Beach, is expected to arrive on or about Aug. 17, and beach fill operations will start shortly thereafter. Sand placement will proceed from north to south along the length of the project area. The contractor will close off active placement sections of the beach measuring approximately 1,500 feet in length with orange safety fencing as they progress southward. As beach fill is completed, the safety fencing will be removed and those sections will be reopened for public use.
Construction will be ongoing 24 hours a day, seven days a week to expedite operations during hurricane season.
USACE Jacksonville will begin publishing weekly progress maps to its social media channels as operations get under way to inform residents and visitors of the location of active construction zones. Links may be found at saj.usace.army.mil/StJohnsVilanoCSRM.
