St. Augustine Beach Army Corps Beach Project
Announcements
North and South Beach Accesses at St. Johns County Ocean and Fishing Pier to Alternate Closures Through End of June for St. Augustine Beach Army Corps Shoreline Protection Project: The north and south beach accesses at the St. Johns County Ocean and Fishing Pier will alternate closures through the end of June to accommodate work on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Shoreline Protection Project. The north access is currently closed, but it will reopen once work is complete and the contractor’s equipment moves to the south side of the pier. This transition will require the pier’s southern beach access to close in order for the project to continue south. The public can expect the same patterns of beach access closures as the project progresses south.
Fishing from the pier will also be closed to the public due to the expected sand placement extending further than the pier’s reach. However, the pier will remain open for sightseeing. Public beach access points can be found a short walk south from the pier parking lot at the ends of 16th Street and 15th Street.
Closures: The Pope Road parking and beach access will be closed starting February 22, 2024 for public safety. Pope Road Parking Lot Closing Until Fall 2024 for Beach Renourishment Project Staging
$62 Million Awarded to St. Johns County for Emergency Beach Repairs – St. Johns County will receive up to $62 million in federal funding from the Jacksonville District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for emergency repairs on two beach projects. The projects include the St. Johns County Shore Protection Project in St. Augustine Beach and the St. Johns County South Ponte Vedra Beach and Vilano Beach Coastal Storm Risk Management Project. The USACE anticipates the construction to start early 2024.
Project Details
The project consists of a 50-year federal commitment to design, construct and monitor beach restoration of the severely eroded beaches of Anastasia State Park and St. Augustine Beach. A federal project is authorized for the FDEP-designated critical erosion area between 4,000’ north of Pope Road in Anastasia State Park to Ocean Hammock Park. The USACE does not place sand on the whole authorized area each nourishment event.
Initial restoration of the USACE’s St. Johns County Shore Protection Project (SPP) was completed in Jan 2003. The project placed about 3.8 million cubic yards (MCY) of sand in the project area. The first and second nourishments in 2005 and 2012 placed about 2.8 and 2.1 MCY of sand. The third nourishment was completed in June 2018. This event placed about 750,000 cy of sand, dredged from the St. Augustine Inlet ebb shoal. The fourth nourishment will be federally funded through the USACE’s emergency storm repair program in 2023. For more information, please see the Army Corps website.
Funding
The project has been fully approved and funded using a combination of USACE, State, County Tourist Development “Bed Tax” funds.
The Beach Brief – An E-newsletter for Timely Updates on St. Johns County Beach Projects
St. Johns County remains dedicated to providing our residents, visitors, and businesses with timely and accurate information regarding current and upcoming St. Johns County beach projects. The monthly “Beach Brief” provides subscribers with an overview of beach renourishment, dune enhancement, and other major coastal projects.
