The first phase of the island's beach renourishment project has officially ended, as the Gulf Shores portion wrapped up at the end of December.

Brandan Franklin, chief building official, said the project is going according to plan and crews actually finished the first phase a few days ahead of schedule before moving on to Gulf State Park and Orange Beach.

"It couldn't have gone any better. I mean, we have 1.15 million cubic yards of sand going into Gulf Shores, and it moved so fast there was barely an inconvenience for residents and condo owners," Franklin said.

Franklin said the project was desperately needed, as some areas of the beach had been heavily eroded over years prior to the project.

"This will greatly benefit us. Prior to getting started, some areas had waves crashing on pool decks and eroding the dunes," Franklin said. "We were really worried for the 2023 season, and it could have been catastrophic if we had any big storms."

After the past two months of work, Franklin said the community's response to the renourishment has been positive so far.

"We've been monitoring social media sites, and the overall response has been great," Franklin said. "We really appreciate everyone's patience through the process."

About the beach renourishment project

In November 2023, a massive beach renourishment project for Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Gulf State Park commenced, involving a $17 million investment to add to and enhance shorelines, dunes and turtle protections.

Contractors began mobilizing equipment on Oct. 20, 2023, and were projected to complete the Gulf Shores portion in January before moving on to Gulf State Park, Orange Beach and Perdido Key.

The project crews will use two dredging vessels to distribute approximately 18,500 cubic yards of sand daily.

Another goal of the project is to increase the environmental protection at the beaches, as the dunes will be rebuilt to around 12 feet of elevation, and approximately 500,000 plants and 3,000 feet of sand fencing will be installed along the dunes.

Additionally, sea turtle monitoring and nest relocations have already been carried out, and in-water trawling monitoring for sea turtles and other wildlife will continue throughout the project.

Per a July 2023 article from Gulf Coast Media, approximately 85-95% of the project costs should be reimbursed by FEMA and AEMA due to damage caused by Hurricanes Nate and Sally. After reimbursements, the city would owe approximately $6,579,242, which would be funded through the 2% lodging tax instituted to maintain the city's engineered beaches.

Between 2001 and 2004, the city invested approximately $18 million to construct the first engineered beach projects that are now recognized by FEMA as city infrastructure. As long as the city periodically reinvests in renourishment projects, damages due to a declared disaster are reimbursable by FEMA/AEMA.

The 405,000 cubic yards of additional sand included in the restoration work will insure the city maintains FEMA eligibility, provides greater storm protection, wider recreational beaches and extends the life cycle of our beach renourishment by approximately two years.

Patrons can still access beach areas outside the work zone, and completed restoration areas and ramps will provide shoreline access over the pipes.