The Walton County-Destin beach restoration project was delayed again this week for mechanical troubles.

Since the project began in January, the Walton County-Destin beach restoration project has experienced several delays due to unfavorable weather conditions. This time weather played no role in the stall.

The beach project encountered its first mechanical difficulties since the project’s start. The Liberty Island Dredge was forced to sail to Mobile, Ala. for repairs last week. After receiving the necessary parts, the ship returned to the project site on Saturday.

Construction crews wasted no time in returning to the project’s timeline. They continued working through the weekend and completed more than 800 feet of beach. This brings the total shoreline completed to date to 2,000 feet of beach – 5.4 percent.

The beach area within the Tops’L Beach and Racquet Resort is almost complete and the construction is expected to continue eastward this week into Four Mile Village.

The timetable for the next few weeks is as follows:

Week of March 13 - completion of Four Mile Village at the western boundary of the Topsail Hill State Preserve. If construction of the eastern segment is completed, the beach will begin to be restored in the remaining sections of Sandestin beginning with the Southwinds Condominiums
Week of March 20 - construction continues westward in Sandestin moving into Gulf Pines
Week of March 27 - construction continues westward through Gulf Pines and into the Hidden Dunes area