Bathtub Beach in Stuart remained closed Monday as work continued on dune restoration.
“What this is is a band-aid on a very small section of the beach," said Martin County Coastal Engineer Kathy Fitzpatrick.
Bathtub Beach is much beloved, and has undergone a number of multi-million dollar renourishment projects in recent years. Fitzpatrick says this work, is restoration work.
“So that we can maintain the dune which is the storm protection for a very important access route which is McArthur Boulevard," said Fitzpatrick.
After Hurricane Irma, the beach had held its’ own, but still lost between 40 and 50 feet.
“If I see beach erosion in a storm then I say it’s working because that energy is going to go somewhere," said Fitzpatrick.
To put this project in perspective, about 8-thousand tons of sand is being trucked in to buffer a 400-foot stretch of beach. The price tag is 130-thousand dollars. Compare that to 300-thousand tons of sand used during a major renourishment project in 2016 that stretched down to Sailfish Point.
Fitzpatrick says it's not clear at this point if the beach will reopen before the Thanksgiving holiday.