The Beach Erosion Control and Hurricane Protection Project partnership between the City of Virginia Beach and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) at Sandbridge Beach was authorized by Section 101(22) of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992, Public Law 102-580 as amended. Although the initial nourishment occurred in 1998 (100% City funded), three renourishments were able to occur as a result of the August 19, 2002 Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the City and the USACE. The PCA allows for a 65%-35% cost share between the USACE and the City for renourishment projects. However, the Federal cost share percentage and subsequently the ability to fund the project is based on Federal appropriations. To date, a total of four beach nourishment efforts have been conducted since 1998. The total volume of sand place is 7.4 million cubic yards.
The fifth beach renourishment project is to begin in November 2019 along the 5 mile shoreline. 1.56 million cubic yards of sand will be placed on the beach between Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Dam Neck Naval Facility. The Engineer’s Estimate for the total project cost is $21.5 Million. The USACE has secured $3.0 million dollars in Federal funding for the project. The remainder of the funding requirement is paid through the established Sandbridge Special Service District funds.
City staff presented the details and upcoming schedule for the November 2019 Sandbridge Beach Restoration project to the Sandbridge Civic League on Monday, February 18, 2019.