Introduction

The Miami-Dade County Beach Erosion Control and Hurricane Surge Protection Project was authorized by Congress in 1966 to address severe beach erosion along the Miami-Dade County shoreline, and the associated economic and social impacts to the community.

The resulting plan, developed and implemented through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, called for the construction of a 10.5-mile protective beach fill extending from Government Cut through Haul over Beach Park. The project was constructed through a series of six contracts from 1975 through 1982 utilizing sand dredged from offshore borrow sources.

In 1986, Congress authorized a second phase to the project for Sunny Isles Beach. This 2.5-mile segment adjoined the previously completed segment at Haulover Park, and extended north to the Town Of Golden Beach. Construction of this second phase was completed in 1988.

• DERM received the Golden Project Award by the Florida Shore and Beach Preservation Association at the 50th year Anniversary Conference of this institution.

Action Plan

An integral part of a comprehensive shore protection program is the implementation of periodic nourishment of the project on an as needed basis to maintain the storm protection and recreational benefits of the project.

While the performance of the overall project has exceeded original design estimates, a number of areas have required multiple nourishment events to maintain a viable beachfront. These erosional hotspots have accounted for a large percentage of the required nourishment activity since the completion of the project.

In an effort to improve the performance cost-effectiveness of the project, a number of project-wide, and site-specific, studies have been conducted to better identify these problem areas, assess the causal factors for the high erosion rates, and develop recommendations for remediating these areas.

The studies identified a total of seven areas that could be categorized as erosional hotspots:

1. The North end of Sunny Isles Beach
2. Bal Harbour Beach
3. 63rd Street on Miami Beach
4. 55th Street on Miami Beach
5. 44th Street on Miami Beach
6. 32nd Street on Miami Beach and
7. North of Government Cut.  

The recommendations for managing these hotspots range from no action, to structural solutions such as breakwaters and groins.

To date, the recommended actions have been completed at four of the seven hotspots, which include:

• breakwater structures at Sunny Isles Beach and 32nd Street on Miami Beach,
• nourishment and continued evaluation at 44th Street, and
• structural improvements and sand tightening at the Government Cut north jetty.

For the Bal Harbour Beach area, a design modification is currently in the final review phase within the Corps, which recommends the removal and replacement of the existing groin field within Bal Harbour. This project, if approved, will be constructed in conjunction with the next scheduled nourishment.

For the 63rd Street hotspot, a submerged breakwater structure has been designed under the Corp’s Section 227 Innovative Erosion Control Program, and is scheduled for construction within the next year.

For the 55th Street area, a small-scale nourishment project is currently underway, after which erosion rates will be monitored to determine if a series of breakwater structures, proposed in a previously completed study, is required.