NEWS RELEASE

Please be aware that the Sector 5 beach renourishment project commenced on Monday, November 4^th and is scheduled to last for several weeks.

In anticipation of this segment of the beach renourishment project, the Tracking Station Park and adjacent beach entrances have been closed and will remain closed for approximately two weeks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email or by phone at (772)226-1408. I will continue to provide relevant updates as needed.

The Sector 5 project area is a 3.1-mile section of shoreline that extends just north of the Seawatch Condos in the Town of Indian River Shores, south to the Riomar Golf Course. The Sector 5 project area sustained damage from Hurricane Matthew (2016) and Hurricane Irma (2017), adding to the need for a large-scale beach and dune nourishment project to maintain protection to upland properties and infrastructure within one of the County’s most important developed residential and business areas. Permits to construct a nourishment project were obtained from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) in early 2019. The approved construction plans allow for building a new dune structure and widening the beach berm up to 50 feet in certain locations along the project area totaling 123,800 cubic yards of sand. The plans also include the planting of the newly constructed dune crests with various native dune salt-tolerant plants, the most common being sea oats, to secure the newly placed sand, help capture wind-blown sand to naturally grow the dunes over time, and provide additional sea turtle nesting habitat.

Hurricane Dorian impacted Indian River County on September 4, 2019, causing an average of 5-8 ft. of dune retreat along the County’s coastline. The Sector 5 project area requires an increase of 55,400 cubic yards of sand to replace sand lost during Hurricane Dorian. The new Sector 5 sand fill quantity of 179,200 cubic yards of beach compatible sand allows the County to maximize the amount of sand placement without creating nearshore hardbottom impacts.

The selected contractor, RIO-BAK Corporation, will begin hauling beach quality sand from Stewart Materials located in Ft. Pierce in the first week of November 2019. The project is anticipated to be completed by April 30, 2020. Project construction will be in three phases starting from the North and moving South using permitted beach staging and access points which include Tracking Station Park, Jaycee/Conn Beach, and Humiston Beach parks. Tracking Station Park will be the first access point used for construction and is anticipated to be closed to public access from November 1st to December 27th, 2019. Weekly project updates will be made available throughout the project by calling 772-226-1117, or through the County’s Coastal Division Facebook page @IRCcoastal.