Florida Beach Projects Get Record Funding From State

In the wake of the busiest hurricane season in 60 years, it looks like 1996 will be a good year for Florida beaches after legislators approved a record amount of funding for beach projects.

Lawmakers have earmarked nearly $47 million for beach projects, including $31 million to restore and rebuild beaches and dunes damaged by Hurricane Opal.

``It's going to be a pretty good year,'' said Robert Dean, chairman of coastal and oceanographic engineering at the UF College of Engineering and a long-time proponent of beach nourishment. ``Of course, Hurricane Opal played a big role.''

An estimated $10.5 million will go to beach restoration in Panama City Beach, one of the areas hit hardest by last year's storms. Dean hopes the state money will reignite beach nourishment efforts along the self-proclaimed ``World's Most Beautiful Beaches,'' where a proposed $31 million beach nourishment project has been shelved. If the project had been completed prior to last year's storms, it could have prevented about $50 million in damage, according to estimates by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

James Hellegaard

photo from: Northwest Florida Daily News

A mile-long stretch of U.S. Highway 98 linking Okaloosa Island to Destin was destroyed by Hurricane Opal.