Photograph used with permission of Sam St. John, FlyTheCoast.com
This project won an award for America’s Best Restored Beach in 2017 from the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.
Acting on behalf of the Town of Dauphin Island, South Coast Engineers lead the planning, design, permitting, and construction of the Dauphin Island East End Beach Restoration project. The project extends approximately one mile from the public beach near Fort Gaines to the west and was completed using roughly 330,000 cubic yards of beautiful, white sand obtained from an approved offshore borrow area. Dune grass and fencing were later installed by the Alabama Coastal Foundation.
The project has been very successful at restoring the eroding beach and dune ecosystem, protecting upland infrastructure, a freshwater lake, and maritime forest as designed. It has been resilient: even after impacts from major hurricanes in 2017 and 2018, about 80% of the new sand placed in 2016 was still found within the project limits 3 years later (and the other 20% was on the beaches to the immediate west).
This 2015-2016 project was so effective that a major renourishment and extension of it is planned for 2023-2024.