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Weeks Marine, Inc., of Cranford, New Jersey, has won a $27 million USACE contract for initial construction of the Flagler County (FL) Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) project.
According to the Corps, USACE will provide 65 percent of the total project costs and Flagler County, Florida, the project’s non-federal sponsor, will provide 35 percent toward the beach construction along 3.5 miles of the county’s critically eroded Atlantic shoreline.
Additional sections of the coastline will also be renourished, both north and south of the federal project, as part of this contract using non-federal funding.
Initial construction is projected to take approximately nine months beginning in June 2024 with completion in March 2025, pending unforeseeable weather delays, and will encompass beach placement of approximately 1.3 million cubic yards of compatible material dredged from a federally managed borrow source approximately 12 miles offshore.
Periodic nourishment is expected to occur in 11-year cycles determined by the extent of storm impact, wave erosion and sea level rise.
The project will include construction and extension of the coastal dune and berm (open beach) based on pre-Hurricane Matthew dimensions. Native beach slopes and grades will be maintained, resulting in a wider beach berm for recreation and storm protection.
When constructed, the project will provide a holistic, environmentally friendly defense against future storms, beach erosion and sea level rise. Upon completion of initial construction, the project will become eligible for emergency beach renourishment following significant storm events at 100 percent federal cost.