Sand-addition work for beaches to kick off Feb. 22

Crews will start just south of Red Reef Park and work 24/7 until they reach the Boca Raton Inlet.

BocaRatonbeachgoersandresidents can expect some disruption starting this month, as crews begin dumping a substantial amount of sand across a 1.45-mile stretch of beach.

NewJersey-based contractorWeeksMarine will start bringing equipment to the coast Feb. 22, and it plans to start pumping sand onto Central Beach the first week in March, Dean Robinson, project manager with MarineWeeks, said at a recent meeting.

Crews will start just south of Red Reef Park and work 24/7 until they reach the Boca Raton Inlet. Robinson expects 44 days of dredging with all the work completed and equipment off the beach by late April.

Segments of the beach will be closed during construction, but as crews move south, areas will reopen behind them.

“There isno absolute schedule or outline, per se, because things may change based on conditions, weather, the dredge, etc.,” city spokeswoman Chrissy Biagiotti said. But it is generally accepted that in a 24-hour period, crews should be able to cover 500 to 800 feet, she said.

When the project is complete, residents will see a much wider beach. In fact, the 530,000 cubic yards of sand will increase the beach width on average by 170 feet, the city’s coastal program manager, Jennifer Bistyga, said.

Residentsmay hear the beeping sound of equipment backing up, a safety measure required by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Bistyga said. “It is an inconvenience for a couple of days— that beeping— but it’s a requirement,” she said.

Crews will dredge materials from two areas about 2,500 feet offshore of the Boca Raton Inlet. Bistyga said the city will monitor nearby reefs and turtle nests during construction to avoid harming wildlife.

It’s been nearly10 years since the city last replenished the beach’s sand, Bistyga said. In March 2004, the city placed 747,000 cubic yards of sand on Central Beach.

But in September of the same year, the project area was directly affected by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, which accelerated the natural beach erosion process. Two years later, in April 2006, the city placed close to 325,000 cubic yards of sand to mitigate the 2004 hurricane season impacts.

Thatprojectwas designed foraneight- to 10-year life span, Bistyga said. With the 10-year mark approaching, the city has determined it’s time to again bulk up the beach.

City officials estimate the cost of the project to be about $11.3 million. Nearly $4 million of the cost will be coveredby the county and state while the rest will fall to the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District.

How the city and the district will share the cost is yet to be determined. Plans for the project presented by the city call for a 50/50 split among the two entities, but negotiations are ongoing.

emiller@tribpub.com, 561-243-6531 or Twitter@EmilyBethMiller