St. Johns County will close Mickler’s Landing parking and beach access from Saturday, May 18, through Wednesday, May 22, so the county’s chosen contractor, Weeks Marine, can accelerate its work on the Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project. The project was originally anticipated to be completed by mid-August. Under the accelerated timeline, the project is now anticipated to be completed by the end of June.
The public can keep up to date on the project and beach parking closures at www.sjcfl.us/PVB and by using the county’s mobile app SJC Connect, available at www.sjcfl.us/SJC-Connect.
Weeks Marine is currently working with two dredges for a limited time, which has greatly expedited the overall project schedule. To maximize the temporary presence of both dredges, Weeks Marine will be working in front of Mickler’s in mid-May, which will bring the total closure time to complete work in the area from eight days down to five days while also completing the project two months ahead of schedule. The May closure dates are subject to change as the project progresses.
The Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project will provide substantial coastline fortifications, including dune reconstruction between 13 and 18 feet, beach berm elevation of eight feet, and beach width increase of 40 to 180 feet post-construction.
In coordination with this valuable coastal restoration project, St. Johns County continues to sustain important environmental and physical monitoring of the coastline. Sea turtle nesting season began May 1 and runs through Oct. 31.
In 2023, St. Johns County beaches saw a record 133 green sea turtle nests as part of 1,205 total nests and an estimated 79,811 sea turtle hatchlings. St. Johns County recorded these historic conservation successes amid multiple full-scale beach nourishment projects, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Augustine Shore Protection Project, the South Ponte Vedra and Vilano Army Corps Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, the South Ponte Vedra Dune Project and the FEMA Dune Enhancement Project that has been renourishing St. Johns County beaches in the wake of erosion from hurricanes Ian and Nicole.
For more information on St. Johns County Coastal Projects, go to www.sjcfl.us/departments/coastal-projects.
