VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Virginia Beach Hurricane and Storm Damage Reduction Project, a joint effort by the city of Virginia Beach and Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is slated to begin Thursday.
Beginning at 15th Street, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company is working toward the placement of sand after mobilization efforts Wednesday.
Crews will work in roughly 1,000-feet sections of the beach, closest to the water, and access to these areas will be closed off to beachgoers to ensure public and contractor safety. The remaining sections, outside the work zone, will remain open.
“Getting this completed before the hurricane season greatly reduces the risk from storm damage to the oceanfront infrastructure, and continues to show our commitment to protecting this vitally important area,” said Kristin Mazur, Norfolk District project manager.
The project consists of beach-berm renourishment along the Virginia Beach oceanfront to provide for a minimum elevation of 9 feet above sea level and minimum crest width of 100 feet.
Beachgoers and hotel guests can expect to see heavy equipment and contractor personnel in placement areas. Renourishment operations will take place 24/7. The Corps and city anticipate work crews to proceed relatively quickly, only being directly behind a hotel or residential property for a day or two before moving on.
The district is implementing an interactive map to track progress of the replenishment project. It provides real-time updates and is color-coded; green means construction is done and red means it’s ongoing.
"Everyone has questions about where the construction is going to be occurring," Mazur said. "If you're a visitor and you want to simply go to the beach and you want to be away from the construction, then you would look at the red areas."
Frequent updates about the project’s status will be maintained on Norfolk District’s website at https://www.nao.usace.army.mil/About/Projects/VBHurricaneProtection/ and its social media platforms at https://www.facebook.com/NAOonFB / and https://twitter.com/norfolkdistrict