Shoreline Project Going Well, But Challenges Make It No ‘Day At
The Beach’
(1st/2nd Quarter 2010)
Crews on a $10 million, six-mile Ranger Construction job were
spending a lot of time at the beach earlier this year, but they
weren’t surfing the waves or lounging in the sun.
Instead, they were
navigating around high tides, dealing with tight material specs
and observing strict environmental protocols as they hauled in
and spread 317,000 cu. yds. of sand – more than 17,600
truckloads – to rebuild the dune and renourish the beach along a
stretch of the Atlantic in Indian River County, Florida.
An additional 326,000 cu. yds. of sand is scheduled to be placed
during the contract’s second phase near the end of the year,
farther north within the boundaries of the Archie Carr National
Wildlife Refuge.
SHORING UP NATURE
The new sand is expected to withstand erosion for six or more
years, protecting beachfront properties and the vital tax base
they represent, while preserving one of the western hemisphere’s
most active sea turtle nesting areas.
Work has been temporarily halted to accommodate the summer
nesting season, when loggerheads, leatherbacks and green turtles
clamber up the beach to dig nests and lay their eggs before
returning to the sea, followed later by their hatchlings.
Because the species are either threatened or endangered,
restoring the beach is a lifeline for their survival.
LOCAL STIMULUS EFFECT
The project is also spreading around more than just sand. Beach renourishment typically involves offshore dredging, with the
recovered sand pumped back onto the beach, which an out-of-state
contractor did recently in other sections.
This time, county officials wanted to shore up the local economy
while replacing the ravaged beachfront, so they accepted
Ranger’s proposal to haul sand from an upland pit. Spreading the
economic boost further, Ranger agreed not to use its own
substantial fleet, but to contract with area trucking and
equipment rental firms.
STRICT SAND SPECS
Because of the huge amount of upland sand involved, the contract
called for very strict size and content specifications. The
material had to be processed to filter out fine particles that
would blow or wash away, as well as larger shell rock or gravel
pieces that would make it too coarse. After all, the new sand
had to double as a marine maternity ward.
The focus on quality paid off. Even before nesting season began
May 1, early arriving turtles gave the restored section “two
flippers up,” digging nests and laying eggs under the cover of
night. In the mornings, the new nests were roped off and work
continued safely around them.
Getting enough high-quality sand to keep up with production was
difficult, so an extension of seven days was received for phase
one completion.
There were also other challenges, because the earthwork was more
involved than most roadway or site development jobs. Each day
more than 200 truckloads of sand were dumped at a crossover,
loaded by excavator onto off-road trucks, hauled down the beach,
dumped per the engineering plans, then spread by dozers up to
and into the surf, building up the shoreline and increasing the
width of the beach.
TIDAL FORCES AT WORK
As expected, working next to the ocean affected production. High
tides made the eroded beachfront even narrower, limiting access
for haul trucks bringing in sand. Once it was placed, the
material was subject to shifting, especially during rough
overnight seas, requiring some rework the next day to get it
back to template.
Rebuilding the dune was another meticulous process. It involved
placing and shaping a sand berm cresting more than 20-ft. high
and stretching for miles. The contract also called for planting
vegetation on the restored dune – almost 300,000 sea grass and
sea oat plants – to help protect it from high winds and storm
surges.
There were strict environmental regulations to comply with as
well, and every so often a bogged down haul truck needed a dozer
to rumble over and pull it out.
Despite the job’s difficulties, county officials and area
property owners were pleased with results on phase one. After
turtle season, workers will head back to the beach once again —
minus their surfboards or lounge chairs — to haul in and place
several more miles of sand for phase two.
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