St. Johns County Completes Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project Two Months Ahead of Schedule

• 3 July 2024
• Category: Beaches Coastal Projects Legislative Affairs
• Tags: 2024

St. Johns County has completed the $38.6 million Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project two months ahead of schedule, with approximately $30.6 million of the costs covered by state legislative funding and grants.

The project was originally anticipated to be completed by mid-August. Weeks Marine, the County’s chosen contractor, worked with two dredges for a limited time, greatly expediting the overall project schedule so that it could be completed by the end of June. The St. Johns County Office of Public Affairs produced a video to capture the project’s success.

The County secured over $30 million from the State of Florida to construct the project, which is estimated to cost approximately $40 million. If the project is damaged in a declared disaster, it could be eligible for post-disaster funding assistance from FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project has restored storm-damaged dunes and berms to provide storm protection to upland infrastructure with more than two million cubic yards of sand dredged in from the ocean. The project has also created additional environmental habitat for wildlife, enhanced the recreational value of the beach, and provided substantial coastline fortifications, including dune reconstruction between 13 and 18 feet, beach berm elevation of eight feet, and beach width increase of 40 to 180 feet post-construction. The project area stretches from the St. Johns-Duval County line to the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve – about nine miles of coastline.

“We’re really excited that this project went the way that it did,” Coastal Environment Project Manager Sloane Stephens said. “It’s been on such an expedited schedule, and our contractor, Weeks Marine, has done a spectacular job with trying to get things done as fast as possible, and we’re really excited that this project will be complete before the end of peak hurricane season in Ponte Vedra.”

In coordination with this valuable coastal restoration project, St. Johns County sustained important environmental and physical monitoring of the coastline. Sea turtle nesting season began May 1 and runs through Oct. 31.

In 2023, St. Johns County beaches saw a record 133 green sea turtle nests as part of 1,205 total nests and an estimated 79,811 sea turtle hatchlings. St. Johns County recorded these historic conservation successes amid multiple full-scale beach nourishment projects, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Augustine Shore Protection Project, the South Ponte Vedra and Vilano Army Corps Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, the South Ponte Vedra Dune Project, and the FEMA Dune Enhancement Project that has been renourishing St. Johns County beaches in the wake of erosion from Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole.

For more information on St. Johns County Coastal Projects, visit www.sjcfl.us/departments/coastal-projects.