Today Commissioner George P. Bush announced the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the City of Corpus Christi have partnered on a project to perform maintenance re-nourishment of Corpus Christi’s North Beach. The project is authorized and funded in part by the State of Texas under the Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA) program administered by the GLO, in partnership with the City of Corpus Christi.
"Our Texas coast is an integral part of the state's rich history and vibrant economy," Commissioner George P. Bush said. "This beach renourishment project will help mitigate the erosion of an existing public recreational beach enjoyed by thousands of children and families in Corpus Christi and help reduce impacts from future tropical storms."
Construction commenced at the end of February, and is expected to last approximately nine weeks. Work will consist of nourishing the beach with approximately 70,000 cubic yards of beach -quality sand over an area of North Beach stretching roughly 3,200 Linear Feet – from Bridgeport Street to just north of Stewart Street in the vicinity of Surfside Park. A key component of the maintenance will involve digging and moving approximately 20,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand that has accumulated near the north end of North Beach to the south end of North Beach. This sand will be supplemented with approximately 50,000 cubic yards of additional beach-quality sand imported to North Beach from an upland source. The construction contract has been awarded to Apollo Environmental Strategies, Inc.
The project is intended to be complete in time for the summer season, although it will straddle the upcoming spring break period of March 12-20. Prior to spring break, the contractor will be conducting nourishment work on the south end of North Beach, progressing northward. In order to relieve some of the impact the construction will have on beach goers the contractor will relocate to work in the vicinity of Burleson Street allowing full use of the south end of North Beach immediately prior to the week of spring break.
North Beach has a history of periodic nourishment stretching back to 1978. The most recent renourishment event took place in 2001, followed by modifications in 2002 and 2003 to improve sand quality. This project, following the monitoring and maintenance protocols of the GLO’s Beach Monitoring and Maintenance Plan, addresses the need for timely maintenance of one of the most important and heavily utilized recreational beaches of the City of Corpus Christi while simultaneously ensuring North Beach remains eligible for federal funding to address repair work under the FEMA Public Assistance program in the event of storm events for which federal disaster declarations may be issued.
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