The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintenance dredging project to maintain the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Venice is under way. The project involves removal of shoaled sediment and use of the dredged material on the beach and nearshore area to take advantage of ecosystem restoration opportunities. The project is scheduled to run for several months and be completed before the end of the calendar year.
Work near Venice involves maintenance dredging within an approximately 5-mile stretch of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Over time, coastal processes have resulted in significant shoaling and deposition of sediment within the waterway, and maintaining long-term navigation requires the removal of these sediments.
UPCOMING CLOSURES: The morning of Monday, Nov. 4, the South Jetty walkway will be temporarily closed so the Army Corps of Engineers contractor can place the dredging pipe across the Jetty. A bridge span will be put in place to allow pedestrian traffic over the pipe while construction takes place. This will take most of the morning on Nov. 4 to construct. Once this is completed, the walkway to the Jetty will remain open during the project. Humphris Park at the South Jetty will remain open during this process; only the walkway will be temporary closed.
Also the morning of Nov. 4, at approximately 6 a.m. the contractor will be using the Venice Beach north lot to offload equipment. The north lot will temporarily close to allow 2 tractor trailers hauling a loader, bulldozer and mats to offload. Once the equipment is offloaded, it will immediately be moved from the lot using the north lot beach access. The equipment will then be walked down the beach to the renourishment site.
The Army Corps of Engineers has a Fact Sheet on the project that includes a map. It can be viewed here: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Media/Fact-Sheets/Fact-Sheet-Article-View/Article/1975725/fall-2019-venice-maintenance-dredging-of-gulf-intracoastal-waterway/
For more information on this project, please contact David Ruderman, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District, at [email protected] or 904-232-1623; or Jim Yocum, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District, at [email protected] or 904-232-3914.