Hollywood's Surf Road next to benefit from beach renourishment project
MIAMI - The northernmost stretch of Surf Road between Walnut and Palm is open again. It was shut down since last Thursday. It was a sandy mess.
"Think of it like a snowstorm in the Midwest, only its sand," said Joanne. She rides her bike in this area. She said when there's heavy winds and rough surf — there's trouble.
"The waves come crashing over, they just throw sand! Bring out the shovels! Even the locals will bring out their brooms and shovels. But it's a lot of sand," she said.
Last week's higher-than-normal tide caused erosion severe enough that the city was concerned the road could collapse.
"Because of the strong east wind last week, it was blowing what's left of the sand here on the beach onto the roadway. It was burying the roadway on top and taking the sand out from underneath the road," said Joann Hussey, City of Hollywood Spokesperson.
This is already a narrow stretch of beach. Last week's rough surf caused enough erosion that the lifeguard tower had to be pulled further off the beach.
"We kept pulling it back and pulling it back and now you see it, it's pretty much on Surf Road and it's still in danger because the beach itself is continuing to erode.
City crews shored up the roadway by making a barrier of boulders and sand up against the road — it's a temporary fix.
"We decided to open the road because we feel it is safe. That should take care of controlling the erosion of the road while the beach renourishment catches up to this area," said Hollywood Director of Design and Construction Jose Cortez.
That renourishment project is well underway in Hollywood. Sand is being moved into areas with the most severe erosion. The next stop is the northern part of Surf Road.
"This whole section of beach is going to be larger and bigger because of the beach renourishment. There's going to be dunes added at some point," Hussey said.
The addition of dunes is still in the planning process.
City officials are hoping that the renourishment project in the area will begin in the next few weeks. It will be coordinated with turtle nesting season.
