Walton Sun:
Yellow hard hats, neonorange construction vests, emerald-green waters and new sugar-white sand are part of the rainbow of colors in the beach nourishment project that began Sunday near the Sandestin Hilton.
The first load of sand was shot from a couple of two-foot wide steel pipes around 9 p.m. Each 4,300-cubic-yard load of sand takes about 45 minutes to pump onto the beaches by way of an underwater pipe, said Brand Pickel, director of beach management for the Walton County Tourist Development Council.
?It?s the equivalent of 210 large dump trucks full of sand,? he said. Crews work around the clock, day and night, delivering five loads of sand a day.
The slurry pumped onto the beach is two-thirds water and one-third sand, Pickel said. Sand is dredged from the East Pass in Destin and transported to the construction site by the 315-foot Liberty Island dredge ship.
?We?re excited to finally get the project underway,? said Pickel.
It has taken nearly seven years of planning, permitting, finding sand and legal wrestling, he said.
Large mustard yellow tractors sculpt and contour the beach before and after the sand is delivered.
Dozens of thin metal poles dot the construction area. On each pole are three different colored ribbons tied 6 inches apart. The neon green, pink and blue ribbons guide surveyors to hit the correct height of sand in a certain area. The bottom green ribbon is the ?pay grade?, Pickel said. Sand has to hit that mark in order for Great Lakes Dredge and Dock and its subcontractors to get paid.
Work will continue if the seas cooperate.
?They can dredge in rougher waters than they can pump out,? Pickel said. ?Once the waves reach about 5 feet they can?t put sand on the beach.?
A crowd of curious spectators gathered on decks, balconies, walkovers and the beach to watch the construction.
?It?s giving us something to do. We?ve been taking pictures,? said Elaine Person from Indiana. ?When we got here there was no beach, now there is. It?s amazing how fast they do this.?
The nourishment project will raise the beach 7 to 8 feet and extend it 100 to 125 feet. A total of three million cubic yards of sand will be used to restore the beaches, Pickel said.
Person was surprised about how quiet the construction is. She had no problem sleeping during construction in front of her Sandestin room, she said.
The nourishment will also help bring in more tourist money to the county, said Stuart Slicis, a real estate agent with 21 Century Beach Realty.
?Quicker we get it down the more money we are going to get (from tourist dollars going into the bed tax) and we can then fix the rest of the beaches (in Walton County),? Slicis said. ?It will be fantastic for the (real estate) market.?
