SOUTH HUTCHINSON ISLAND –

The contractor working on the federal beach renourishment project at Fort Pierce Beach has revised its schedule and now expects to close public access to the South Jetty walkway and access to the beach immediately to the south, beginning Saturday, March 21 through Friday, March 27.

The south end of Seaway Drive east of the roundabout and some of the parking areas at Jetty Park will be closed to the public starting Monday, March 23 through Friday, March 27.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville District has hired Manson Construction to place roughly 400,000 cubic yards of sand from authorized borrow areas off the coast of Fort Pierce on one mile of shoreline immediately south of Fort Pierce Inlet. Beach placement of sand is expected to begin on Tuesday, March 24 according to the Contractor (Manson Construction). Offloading of the sand will take place from inside the inlet’s south jetty and move down the coastline. Operations are planned to be complete by mid-May. Periodic closures to Seaway Drive, the Fort Pierce Jetty and adjacent beach will be necessary until the renourishment project is completed.

The upcoming renourishment project is the continuation of a federal shore protection project initially constructed in 1971. It is being executed under a $15.1 million contract between the USACE and Manson Construction, with 77.76 percent of the funding coming from the federal government and 22.25 percent of the funding coming from the county’s Erosion District. This federal project reduces storm damage to residential and commercial infrastructure, improves habitat for coastal marine life, and helps offset persistent coastal erosional impacts attributed to the federal inlet.  

Once the renourishment project begins, work will be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays, until completion. This project will be monitored by independent contractors who will be checking for sea turtle nesting (and will be relocating nests, as needed) during construction efforts.

For more information about the Fort Pierce Shore Protection Project, please visit the Fort Pierce Shore Protection Project webpage.

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