Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – Beach renourishment should begin in the middle of November on the Alabama Gulf Coast and be completed sometime in late February.

Gulf Shores Emergency Management Director Brandan Franklin updated the city council at the end of the regular meeting on Sept. 25. Work will begin in Gulf Shores first and move westward to the state line.

“Last week the governor did sign the final documents and send them back in the mail to us,” Franklin told the council “Great Lakes has notified us that they will start mobilizing their equipment down to our area beginning the first of October. This will put them at a Nov. 15 start date. We’ll have a preconstruction meeting the first of November. As far as I know, everything is going well.”

The contractor is bringing more equipment and men than typically used in the past.

“They’re actually bringing down two hoppers, two dredges so, this will speed up the process,” Franklin said. “Instead of one full, crew they’re bringing in one and a half crews to keep going. This thing should move rather fast through our area. The goal is still to have everything done by the end of December (in Gulf Shores) which barring any bad luck or anything that should occur.”

Crews also must wait until hatching season for sea turtles nesting on the beach is completed.

“We’ve located all the sea turtle nests that have now hatched and hopefully by the time this project begins all of those will have made their way back into the ocean,” Franklin said.

Several places have had severe erosion on West Beach in Gulf Shores leaving many boardwalks leading to the beach unusable. Owners must wait until the project is finished before starting work on repairs, Franklin said.

“I want to let everyone know that we still have a moratorium doing walkovers,” Franklin said. “Once the renourishment project is done, again, we’re going to be doing the planting, sand fencing and then I’ll start issuing the permits for all of our dune walkovers to get everyone to the beach. Right now, everything’s on schedule and looking good.”

Orange Beach Coastal Resources Director Phillip West said he anticipates the project will reach Orange Beach by early January and be completed by late February.