Segment III - Port Everglades Sand Bypass
After decades for planning, design, and permitting, Broward County is pleased to announce plans for construction of the long-awaited Sand Bypass Project at Port Everglades.
The Sand Bypass project will be completed through four phases of work: dredging, north jetty enhancement, artificial reef mitigation, and rubble removal. Dredging work has been awarded to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock. Completion of the Project in total is estimated by the end of 2025.
A public webinar was hosted via Zoom on Thursday, June 6, 2024. A recording of the webinar will be posted to YouTube soon; to request a copy of the recording, please contact Stephanie Roche at
sroche@broward.org.
Background
The Sand Bypass Project exemplifies a long-term strategy for regional resilience in Southeast Florida, with substantial physical, economic, and environmental benefits to the Broward County Federal Shore Protection Project and Port Everglades Federal Navigation Channel.
The Sand Bypass Project will aid in providing a supplemental sand source for the Broward County Segment III Shore Protection Project, delivering an economical, local source of sand where offshore sand sources are no longer available for nourishment activities, thus requiring truck haul of sand from inland sand sources for ongoing projects. The Sand Bypass project now presents an alternative, reducing the scale and potentially the frequency of future truck haul projects.
Benefits
Implementation of the proposed Sand Bypass Project will:
- Increase the resilience of critical natural resources and existing infrastructure.
- Reduce the impacts of Port Everglades to the shorelines south of the inlet.
- Provide a sustainable beach compatible sand source for the highly erosional shorelines south of the inlet -- Segment III of the Broward County Federal Shore Protection Project, about 50% of sand needs.
- Fortify and sustain storm protection for critical infrastructure and valuable property including the US Coast Guard Station, port facilities and over $345 million in property.
- Reduce shoaling in the Federal navigation channel.
- Preserve habitat and nesting areas for three endangered and four threatened species in one of the most highly developed urban areas in the state.
- Maintain opportunity for public outdoor recreation at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, serving over half a million residents and visitors annually.
- Provide the most environmentally sensitive approach to beach management in an area of rich coastal and nearshore reef resources.
Status
Due to the recent listing of the queen conch as a threatened species by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) the County has been notified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that reinitiation of formal consultation for queen conch must take place before the project can begin. County staff are coordinating with the regulatory agencies and vendor to seek timely advancement, but project delays of potentially 12 months are possible. If you have any questions about the Sand Bypass Project please contact Stephanie Roche at sroche@broward.org.
