Intracoastal Waterway, Matanzas dredging project almost done

Southwind Construction of Evansville, Indiana, will soon wrap up work on the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW) maintenance dredging project in St. Johns County.

Since the last fall, Southwind has been using a cutter suction dredge to deepen portions of the IWW and keep the channels open and safe for navigation.

In an effort to close the breach and build up the beach, the removed material is being placed onto the Summer Haven, south of Matanzas Inlet.

Beneficial placement of the dredged material along the beach in Summer Haven is a cost effective way to keep beach quality sand in the system, and provide coastal risk reduction and cost savings.

According to St. Johns County, the maintenance dredging of approximately 300,000 cubic yards of beach quality sand will be completed by May 2024.