SOUTH HUTCHINSON ISLAND – Dollman Beach, located at 9200 South Ocean Drive, will be closed this week as contractors have begun staging heavy equipment for the upcoming beach renourishment mission as part of the South St. Lucie County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project (CSRMP).

The beach will be closed this week and next to all traffic and pedestrian access. The south side of the parking lot and the beach access route will be open to the public on the weekends during this time.

Manson Construction has begun mobilizing equipment in the northern overflow parking area for the federal beach nourishment project. Dredging activities are scheduled to start Thursday, Jan. 22, with an anticipated project completion date of Tuesday, June 30. Temporary beach closures will occur throughout this project.

The CSRM project protects roughly 3.3 miles of Atlantic Ocean shoreline on South Hutchinson Island. The recommended plan includes beach and dune nourishment from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Range Monument R-98 in St. Lucie County to the Martin County line. After initial construction, the periodic renourishment interval is 18 years, equaling two periodic nourishment events over the 50 years of the federal participation plan. The sand source identified for the project is the St. Lucie Shoals, located approximately 3.5 miles offshore.

Sand will be pumped offshore onto the beach using barges and large metal pipes. Heavy equipment will be on the beaches during this project to help smooth out the sand. There will be pipeline crossovers every few hundred feet, so those accessing open beach areas within the construction area should use caution and adhere to posted signs and fencing for safety.

For more information about the CSRM, please visit the South Hutchinson Island Renourishment Project webpage.

To see all St. Lucie County beach access points, please visit the St. Lucie County Beaches site.