JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Despite taking another big hit from Nicole, Jacksonville Beach’s dunes did the job and did not breach.
It’s going to take a while for the dunes to return to their previous state before Hurricane Ian and Tropical Storm Nicole.
A state that is vital when it comes to protecting Jacksonville Beach from flooding.
“If we got hit by another one or two Nicole’s in the next 3 to 8 months yea, we’re going to have a problem we’re going to have breaching." Coastal Engineer, Kevin Bodge, said.
Bodge assists the City of Jacksonville with their beach and dune erosion and renourishment issues.
Every 5 to 6 years Jacksonville’s Beaches undergo routine renourishment, which means restoring the beach with sand from an alternate source.
It’s a program that pools money from the federal and state government as well as local taxpayer dollars.
The previous renourishment project took place in 2019 after Hurricanes Matthew and Irma and cost around $20 million.
For a big storm event, such as the last project, Bodge says the federal government usually covers 80 percent with state and City of Jacksonville covering the balance.
“We really put a lot of energy and focus into rebuilding a completely coherent dune system after Hurricane Matthew and Irma and that really showed the benefits here in 2022 from Nicole and Ian so that we lost the seaward parts of the dune but no evidence of breaching or flooding." Bodge said.
Bodge said they don’t have the exact numbers on what this re-nourishment project will cost, but that it should be done sometime in 2024.