PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Very few, if any, beach widening projects in St. Johns County get an official ceremony. But the one for Ponte Vedra Beach did.
Friday at Micklers Landing, state lawmakers, engineers, county employees, and others gathered for a ground breaking – or a sand dumping (dignitaries poured sand from beach pails) to mark the start of the Ponte Vedra Beach nourishment.
Why all the hoopla?
St. Johns County Commissioner Henry Dean said: "Many of us have been working on this project for six years."
He noted that this project is something people in the community asked for after hurricanes Matthew and Irma significantly eroded Ponte Vedra Beach in 2016 and 2017.
Without any federal funding, which usually pays for chunks of beach nourishment projects, "it really took a whole community to come together to get this done," county Emergency Management Director Joe Giammanco said.
The $38 million price-tag will be paid for with state funding, special tax money from the beach property owners, and from county tourism tax dollars.
The project will dredge sand from offshore, pipe it onto the beach, and spread it out over a nine-mile stretch. It will extend from the Duval County line – which is the southern boundary of Jacksonville Beach – south to the Guana Reserve.
Giammanco said the beach would be extended out anywhere from 30-50 feet more in some spots. "In some places yo might see up to 100-200 feet."
Dean said a wider beach helps the environment, such as nesting sea turtles, as well as the economy.
"Survey after survey shows the number one for draw for St. Johns County for tourists is the beach," Dean noted. "So if you think about the seven million people that come each year and the money that they spend coming to our county hotels, restaurants, attractions, it’s a huge economic boost."
He added, "If you’ve ever worked on a project for 6 years and to see it come to fruition … I think it deserves a pretty darn big celebration."
The northern portion project has already started. The entire project is expected to wrap up in August.