TITUSVILLE, Fla. – A long-awaited project to restore shoreline and habitat in the Indian River Lagoon is beginning to take shape in Titusville.
Officials broke ground Wednesday on the Titusville Causeway Multi-Trophic Restoration and Living Shoreline Resiliency Action Project.
Brevard County Natural Resources Management Department announced the beginning of the project, which is the first in Florida to combine multiple solutions across habitats to stop shoreline erosion, build storm resilience, and enhance wildlife habitat.
“It’s a very multi-purpose project,” said Virginia Barker, Director of Brevard County’s Natural Resources. “We’re trying to accomplish a lot of things all at once.”
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The $4.2 million project will be constructed by aquatic restoration experts Sea & Shoreline.
“It all started with (the Department of Transportation) and Brevard County starting to lose their shoreline and part of the causeway,” said Sea & Shoreline Vice President Andrew Risi.
The first step is fabricating 648 Wave Attenuation Devices (WADs), which will be placed along the shoreline to absorb wave energy generated from storms.
“That energy will come through, but any sediment that’s in the water column, it’s pretty heavy. It’s going to fall out behind it,” Risi said.
After the WADs are put in place, 4,150 cubic yards will be brought in to restore the shoreline, along with four acres of seagrass and seeding with one million clams in the Indian River Lagoon.
“That seagrass is the underwater rain forest that provides the underwater habitat for the fish and critters that love the diversity and abundance of this lagoon,” Barker said.
The project is expected to be completed in spring 2025.
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