Beaches in Broward County still don't look like what they did before Hurricane Irma washed sand away.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has two beach renourishment projects planned in the county to fully fund fixing the damage from Irma.
The first project will tackle adding dry sand back to Southern Broward County beaches, including Dania, Hollywood, Hallandale beaches.
"People are going to be seeing the sand real soon in the South county - as soon as January,” Larry Barszewski, who has been covering the issue for the Sun Sentinel, told WLRN. “I know that's a year and a few months after Hurricane Irma, but in the federal process - how quickly things work - that is pretty fast."
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The second project is expected to take longer. It aims to widen the beaches in between Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach. That involves more work to fill in sand at the water’s edge, as well as some permitting.
The federal government is fully funding the sand restoration related to Hurricane Irma. It’s expected to cost $65 million dollars once both projects are completed.
The City of Hollywood had already paid for some new sand to add to its southern-most beaches after Hurricane Irma, according to the city's Community Redevelopment Agency, or CRA. In November 2017 the CRA paid $3.7 million dollars for sand to start the beach renourishing process.
Broward County has plans to add even more sand to the area, on top of the Hurricane Irma replenishment projects.
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But it's not all for the sake of vanity or having prettier-looking beaches, Barszewski said.
"On the dry beach area, that's away from the water line - that's where they're putting the 123,000 cubic yards...with the idea that that's gonna provide protection if another storm would come through,” he said. “It’s a lot of sand."
This post has been updated.
