The permitting process is complete for Palm Beach County’s jack and bore installation of pipe casing under A1A in the area of Ocean Inlet Park.  The PBC Parks & Recreation Department is scheduled to begin limited vegetation trimming during the first week of November to provide access for the heavy equipment.  During the second week of November, the contractor will begin excavation on the east side of the dune to expose the seawall.  The actual jack and bore process, commencing from the west side of A1A, is scheduled to begin January 4^th.  The contractor will provide a construction schedule at a future pre-construction meeting.  A fact sheet regarding the project is attached to this memo, and has been provided on the Town’s website and in the lobby of Town Hall.  Here are the details of the County’s project within the Town of Ocean Ridge:

The County will be dredging the South Lake Worth Inlet Sand Trap.  The Trap is typically dredged every 6-8 years as needed due to sand accumulation captured by the inlet system.  Following hydraulic dredging, the County is planning to expand the depth and lateral limits of the Trap to make future dredging more efficient.  The County is also planning a Jack and Bore construction project.  Dredging the Sand Trap typically includes routing flexible dredge piping under the A1A bridge and across a large public use area at Ocean Inlet Park.  The Jack and Bore project will install a buried 30” steel pipe casing under A1A at the southern end of Ocean Inlet Park.  This steel pipe casing will act as a conveyance for the dredge pipe to be routed in a much less-used area of the Park.  Once the pipe casing installation is complete, the casing will protrude 2 feet beyond the existing seawall, 2 feet below the existing seawall cap.  When the casing is not in use, the casing will be sealed, covered with dune sand, vegetated, and not visible.  The casing is expected to be in use and exposed for 6-8 weeks every 6-8 years during periodic maintenance dredging of the sand trap.  This new pipe route will be much safer for beach, boat, and Park users during future dredging events in addition to shortening the pipe distance to the ultimate sand placement area in the Ocean Ridge Shore Protection Project area.   

The South Lake Worth Inlet is a critical feature that maintains recreational boat access to the Atlantic, along with greatly improving water quality in the southern Lake Worth Lagoon and Intracoastal Waterway.  Since inlets act as “sand sinks” that capture sand from the natural longshore transport of sand, the County maintains a robust program of inlet maintenance dredging and beach re-nourishment to mitigate these potential down-drift effects.  These projects also provide storm protection and critical environmental habitat for the Town’s coastline.  The ultimate beneficiaries are the residents, visitors, and the complex environmental system maintained by these efforts.  The County is pursuing these projects to increase the safety, timeliness, and cost-efficiency of future inlet management projects, and they are critical to shore protection efforts in the Town.

Click Here to Access Palm Beach County's Fact Sheet

Respectfully,

Tracey L. Stevens, MMC, Town Manager & Finance Director