A Palm Beach project to replenish the sand dunes south of Lake Worth Pier is expected to begin in November, after the Town Council unanimously approved the project’s over $2.1 million budget.
But the cost of the project has jumped by $750,000 due to the addition of a conveyer belt that will be used to transfer the sand from the Atrium Condominium’s parking lot to trucks on the coastline, Sara Gutekunst, the town’s coastal coordinator, told the council on Oct. 14.
Public Works Director Paul Brazil said that compared to the rate Palm Beach County has paid for conveyor belts, the price was very competitive. Especially when considering the conveyor belt’s size, he said.
A sunbather at Phipps Ocean Park sits just outside the work site of Phipps Ocean Park beach nourishment project south the Par 3 on Dec. 31, 2024.
“We’re going all away from the road (South Ocean Boulevard), up a hill, over the dune and down the other side,” Brazil said.
The stretch of coastline in question, from just south of the Lake Worth Pier to La Bonne Vie Condominium, was originally part of this year’s Phipps Ocean Park Beach Nourishment and Dune replenishment project. But it was left untouched after the City of Lake Worth Beach withdrew a beach access agreement it had with Palm Beach.
That left the project in a state of limbo until June, when the Atrium agreed to host the project. That agreement was cemented in a Aug. 12 memorandum of understanding between the town and condo.
“The people at the Atrium are doing a marvelous job for us,” Council President Pro-Tem Lew Crampton said.
Crampton also noted that the neighboring Claridges Condominium will host a fuel depot for the project’s trucks.
Expected to start sometime in November, the project will see trucks transporting the stockpiled sand at Phipps Ocean Park to the Atrium’s property before it is shoveled onto a conveyor belt and dumped on the coast, Brazil said. From there, another truck would collect the sand before placing it on the targeted coastline. Those trucks will enter the coastline via the Boynton Inlet beach access, according to a staff memo.
Dune replenishment project extends to South Palm Beach
During the Oct. 14 meeting, Town Council also signed an interlocal agreement with South Palm Beach that will see Palm Beach replenish the dunes along its southern neighbor’s coastline.
“We’ve had a great relationship in the past, and assisted them with placing sand for dunes,” Gutekunst told the council.
Gutekunst noted that the placements will be funded by a $319,150 state grant to repair South Palm Beach’s stretch of coastline.
The agreement will allow the project to place about 10,000 cubic yards of sand along South Palm Beach’s coastline.
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Palm Beach OK’s new budget for South End dune nourishment project
