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South jetty seaward extension project
Essential environmental improvements scheduled for Smyrna Dunes Park in Ponce de Leon Inlet

In 2004, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin construction on a 1,000-foot seaward extension of the south jetty at Ponce de Leon Inlet. This project is critical to the long-term navigational safety of the Ponce de Leon Inlet channel.

Smyrna Dunes Park, where the south jetty is located, is among the most scenic and popular coastal parks in Volusia County. As such, Volusia County Leisure Services and the Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District will do everything possible to reduce the inconvenience to park users once the south jetty seaward extension project gets underway.
In response to concerns put forth by the surfing community, the County of Volusia--Inlet & Port District has requested the Corps of Engineers redesign the planned South Jetty Extension in such as way as to minimize impacts to the surfing break at New Smyrna Beach.

The recommended design is a straight line, seaward extension of the existing jetty rather than the originally proposed dogleg design. The straight extension is supported by representatives of the SE Volusia surfing community.

Key facts

  • The project is slated to begin in 2004.
  • The project will take about a year to complete.
  • The project will be contracted and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • The project's estimated cost is $7.5 million. The federal government will pay 50 percent, the state will pay 25 percent and the county and the Florida Inland Navigation District will each pay 12.5 percent of the total project costs.
  • Smyrna Dunes Park users may expect some inconvenience. However, the park will remain open.
  • The biggest change will be a 1,000-foot seaward extension of the rock jetty.
  • A 1,200-foot concrete fishing deck, very similar to the popular fishing deck on the north jetty, also will be constructed on top of the seaward jetty extension.
  • The project is essential to correct severe navigational problems at Ponce de Leon Inlet.

Q. What is the south jetty extension project?
A. The south jetty extension project is part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' ongoing efforts to maintain a safe, stable and navigable oceanic access channel through the Ponce de Leon Inlet. This work includes the construction of a 1,000-foot seaward extension of the south jetty parallel to the north jetty. The alignment of the jetty extension is shown below.

In addition, the Inlet and Port District has partnered with the federal government on the construction of a south jetty boardwalk/fishing pier. By incorporating this recreational amenity into the south jetty extension project, the Inlet and Port District was able to take advantage of federal planning, engineering and design work. It also will be more cost effective and less disruptive to add the boardwalk/fishing pier to the jetty extension construction project.

Q. Where will the jetty be extended?
A. The south jetty will be extended 1,000 feet into the sea in an easterly direction, beginning at the current seaward tip of the south jetty at Smyrna Dunes Park (as shown above).

Q. Why does the south jetty need to be extended?
A. The inlet channel has shifted dangerously close to the north jetty creating a very narrow and treacherous inlet channel (as shown in the drawing below). This swift and narrow channel produces very steep, short period waves in the inlet entrance and continually undermines the base of the north jetty. This undermining effect eventually could result in the collapse of the north jetty, and has already has generated the construction of a $1.5-million submerged, granite, toe-scour apron (designed to prevent a north jetty collapse). Treacherous shoaling also has developed across the center of the inlet reaching north from Smyrna Dunes Park. This causes very hazardous channel conditions for recreational and commercial mariners.

The south jetty extension is designed to rectify these problems by:

  • Drawing the inlet channel away from the north jetty to a safer, more central location between the north and south jetties. This also will reduce the scouring effect of the channel that is undermining the base of the north jetty and reduce the severe wave climate in the inlet.
  • In drawing the channel to the center of the inlet, the shoal across the inlet's center will retreat back toward Smyrna Dunes Park. The jetty extension also will halt any south-to-north sand transport along the beach that wraps around the tip of the south jetty and builds up on the shoal across the center of the inlet.

Q. How will the jetty extension be built?
A. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor will ship granite rock from Georgia by rail. This rock will be staged and loaded on barges on the Intracoastal Waterway. These rocks  will then be barged to the southern interior shore of the inlet for staging, and a crane will be used to set the rocks into place from the current seaward end of the south jetty.

Q. Will I be able to go to the beach at Smyrna Dunes Park?
A. Yes, although areas directly in and around the jetty construction will be closed temporarily for safety purposes.

Q. When will the work begin? How long will the project take?
A. Construction is slated to begin in 2004 and should take about one year to complete.

Q. Will I be able to use the inlet for access to the ocean or fishing from my boat?
A.  Yes. Ponce de Leon Inlet will remain open during the south jetty construction work. However, there may be temporary channel buoys and/or warning signs posted to keep boaters a safe distance from the barges and construction equipment.

Q. Will I be permitted to use my personal watercraft or wind surfboard in the inlet? ?
A. Yes.

Q. When the project is completed will the temporarily closed areas of Smyrna Dunes Park re-open?
A. Yes.

Q. Will Smyrna Dunes Park look differently when the jetty extension is completed?
A. The park will look much as it does now except for the rock jetty extension and the jetty boardwalk.

Q. How will the inlet stabilization work affect navigation and shoaling of the inshore river channels heading south to the Intracoastal Waterway?
A. There should be minimal impact on the interior channels immediately north and south of Ponce de Leon Inlet. In fact, aerial photographs from before the first stabilization of the inlet show that the channels leading to the Intracoastal Waterway north and south of the inlet always have been very deep and tidally-reliable, regardless of the condition of the inlet. This is predicted to continue with little or no impact on Intracoastal Waterway navigation.

Q. Will the jetty extension cause beach erosion to the south?
A. No. According to a study done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the south jetty extension will instead cause the beach immediately south of the inlet to advance some 180 feet seaward. Over a decade, there would be a gain of 456,000 cubic yards of sand on the beaches south of the jetty. In fact, any impact of the jetty extension on beaches to the south would be limited to a distance of about a mile.

For more information, or if you have questions or concerns, please call:

Tim Murphy
Project Manager
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Programs and Project Management Division
Project Management Branch
P.O. Box 4970
Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019
(386) 232-3847

Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District

Joe Nolin
Manager
(386) 248-8072

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