A couple poses for engagement photos at South Inlet Park in Boca Raton late last month. The restoration has raised the beach by about 6 feet, the city says. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Mary Hladky
The 12-foot sand cliffs at South Inlet Park are now a distant memory.
Severe beach erosion in mid-February was the result of cold weather fronts and powerful tides.
The city’s dredge boat crew was able to begin correcting the problem almost immediately.
A sand bypassing operation has placed more than 14,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach south of the Boca Inlet since Feb. 17, city officials said in late March.
The elevation of sand surface has been raised by about 6 feet from the jetty to nearly 100 feet south.
The boulders that make up the jetty now are nearly completely covered.
The sand bypassing operation runs three or four days a week, and averages placing about 1,000 cubic yards of sand each day.
Access to the jetty and the adjacent beach area has been fully restored.
Bypassed sand will gradually work its way south, building up berm width and height on South Inlet Park beach.
The city is coordinating with Gumbo Limbo Nature Center to safeguard turtles through the turtle nesting season.
Grading of bypassed sand to build up the beach berm near the dune and jetty will be considered when it can be done without any negative effect on turtle nesting, city officials said.
Boca Raton routinely nourishes its south beach every seven years, rotating the work with projects on its central and north beaches.
In April 2023, the city completed the sixth renourishment project of the shoreline adjacent to South Inlet Park.
Sand placement started at South Inlet Park and continued south to Deerfield Beach and Hillsboro Beach.
The 1.4-mile project was the first collaborative project among the three cities.
Boca Raton received a “Best Restored Beach Award” from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association for that work.
The three cities saved money on renourishment projects that they had conducted independently in the past. They used about 370,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from the ebb shoal just south of the Boca Raton Inlet.
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