This week, St. Johns County officials took another step in getting more sand on a three-mile stretch of shoreline in Vilano Beach.
This project could add up to 1.3 million cubic yards of sand to widen Vilano Beach shores. Officials say the goal is to prevent nearby homes from hurricanes and storm surge.
Jonathan and Jennifer Burnett have lived near the Vilano Beach area for more than a year. Before moving, they did their homework on how hurricanes battered the area beaches.
“We saw the damage, a home kind of on its side from the erosion during Irma if you walk the beach during high tide the beach is washed out,” Burnett said.
In recent memory, Hurricane Dorian’s brush by the First Coast also caused problems.
Damon Douglas, Coastal Manager with St. Johns County Public Works, says the Vilano Beach renourishment project has been on the radar since the area was surveyed in 2000.
“These beaches were vulnerable before Matthew and Irma, that really exacerbated the damage from those storms,” Douglas said.
The county is one step closer to addressing the issue.
This week, the county commission committed to sending up to $22 million in necessary funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Douglas says much of that could be reimbursed through grants from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Douglas estimates bids could go out for the project in April with work possibly starting in September.
This project is part of a 50-year program where the shorelines will continue to be assessed.
“The benefit they [the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers] are majoring is the reduction in damage from storms due to this sand being added and the dunes being protected over the 50-year program,” Douglas said.
Burnett is looking forward to the project and wants those that live along the shore to have a better sense of security.
“Keeping the residents safe is a paramount issue,” Burnett said.
That extra 50 feet of sand between the dunes and the ocean could go a long way in protecting homes.
Douglas says the project will start a quarter mile north of Surfside Park and extend to the Serenata Beach Club with 1,000-foot tapers on each side.
The project is expected to be completed by June 2021.