Within a matter of days, a series of dump trucks are expected to rumble in to the coastline carrying something as precious as gold in Broward County: sand.
The county's first major beach renourishment project in 10 years is expected to begin in early December, a sand infusion to beef up about 5 miles of skinny beach in Pompano Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Fort Lauderdale. Some parts of those beaches haven't been manually refilled with sand since the 1970s or 1980s. And some never have at all.
Parts of the shoreline are so thin, water laps the seawall at high tide. When the work is done, the beach will be an average of 75 feet wider.
The new beach will keep tourists coming, officials say, but also will protect buildings and roadways.
"It's not just a quality of life or a tourism issue, it's a safety isue,'' Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca said. "These buildings ... they're not designed to go under water.''
Broward County has learned the hard way that what nature used to take care of now requires costly human intervention.
When the shoreline was devoid of development, and there were no ports and jetties to interrupt sand flow, beaches waxed and waned without assistance. But now, maintaining the shoreline requires years of permitting, environmental review, engineering and design — and money.
This project, known as "Segment II,'' has been in the works since at least 1996, and will cost $55 million.
"This project is so far long overdue that it's just abhorrent thinking about it,'' said Pio Ieraci, head of the Galt Mile Community Association, which represents a string of 28 condo towers on a sand-starved oceanfront in Fort Lauderdale. "Our beaches are first and foremost our line of protection against the ocean.''
After years of delay, the project got a green light earlier this month, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted final approval of an agreement in which the feds reimburse $30 million of the cost. Of the remaining portion, the county pays 67 percent and the three cities pay the rest.
"Beaches are one of the lifelines of Broward County's economy,'' U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, a Democrat who represents most of the coast in Broward and Palm Beach counties, commented in a written statement. "This project will put sand back on the beach, protecting property values and keeping visitors returning to South Florida year after year."
Broward County commissioners gave their final sign-off on Nov. 10, heaving a collective sigh of relief, but also noting that if Fort Lauderdale doesn't approve its end of the agreement soon, that portion of the work could be pushed off another year.
Sea turtle nesting season ended Nov. 1 and starts again March 1. LaMarca said the work must be complete by April 30.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said the compact is on the City Commission's Dec. 1 agenda, and he's "cautiously optimistic.''
Correspondence between city and county reveals the two were squabbling over finances, as well as issues like the hours of work, and the county's plans to plant sea grapes to stabilize the sand. The county had asked that the agreement be approved by Fort Lauderdale by Nov. 1.
Fort Lauderdale's sense of urgency for sand increased when a portion of State Road A1A washed out during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. A small-scale beach restoration took place then, but the disaster highlighted the fragility of Fort Lauderdale's developed beachfront against the powerful surf.
Fort Lauderdale's beachfront will be rebuilt to Terramar Street, a bit north of Las Olas Boulevard.
"We're excited about it,'' Seiler said. "We've been anxiously awaiting this beach renourishment project for quite some time and it is extremely important to the city of Fort Lauderdale. Hopefully we'll be able to resolve any outstanding issues and start seeing some new sand on the beach.''
LaMarca said Eastman Aggregates will do the work, requiring about 38,000 truckloads of sand, or about 700,000 cubic yards. The sand will be beach quality, retrieved from mines in Florida, such as one in LaBelle. Beaches will be closed while they're under construction — about a week at any one site, LaMarca predicted.
Broward business, civic and political leaders say the beach is desperate for sand — the key ingredient to a healthy economy. But it comes at a hefty price.
With this project, $139 million will have been spent rebuilding Broward's beaches since 1970, according to the county.
The most recent major project, the rebuilding of beaches in South Broward, or "Segment III,'' took place a decade ago and cost $44.5 million. A redo of that part of the beach is the next major project planned, expected to cost $53.9 million.
A smaller project, the "sand bypass project,'' where sand will be trapped in a hole on the ocean floor north of Port Everglades for use on beaches to the south is expected to cost $33.9 million.
Broward pays its portion with tourist taxes paid at hotels and short-term rentals. The annual tab is expected to be $7 million. But that's an investment that pays off, said Dan Lindblade, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce.
"The state did a study that says in Broward for every dollar spent on beach renourishment, there's $5 returned to the economy,'' Lindblade said. "That's the important thing to remember.''
bwallman@tribune.com or 954-356-4541
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