HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Nearly 900,000 cubic yards of sand is being placed along South Florida beaches in an effort to renourish eroded shores.
As if strong winds and rain weren’t enough of an inconvenience for South Florida visitors and residents, the conditions have been brutal to our beaches.
High surf, rip currents and storm surge were a recipe for beach erosion.
“I walk around every day,” Hallandale Beach resident Desbe Hifif said. “Sometimes I am just looking around and I’m like ‘Damn, this seems a little smaller than I remember it.’”
But, through federal funding, the third segment of the Broward County Shore Protection Project continues.
Throughout the day Wednesday, Local 10 News watched as dump truck after dump truck moved tons of sand from their staging area in Hallandale Beach north to Hollywood Beach.
It’s an area that was hit hard by severe weather in late December.
Some beachgoers seemed to be bothered by the heavy equipment and sectioned-off area of the beach.
“Obviously for the tourist, it kind of sucks because we come here to visit and if we try to walk down, it kind of stops us from being able to walk any further,” tourist Daniel Mar said.
Others Local 10 spoke with understood the necessity of the renourishment project. They say would not only revitalize our beaches but continue to draw in tourists and maintain the beauty and access.
“Keeping natural barriers for the water like sand is important opposed to seawalls which cause further erosion and will shrink our shores even more,” Hifif said.
Visitor Cosimo Sergio said, “I think what they are doing is amazing because people can still enjoy the beach.”