This development chatter is so Sand-iego — in all the best ways. Sand nourishment efforts are underway at Cardiff State Beach in our North County, so if you spot heavy machinery on the shoreline + hear lots of construction noise, here’s the scoop.

🏖️ The sandy stats:
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), Caltrans, the City of Encinitas + California State Parks are working together to add more than 63,000 cubic yards of sand to Cardiff State Beach (near Tower 13). SANDAG said this is equivalent to filling 19 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

he sand is being dredged from the San Elijo Lagoon. | Photo via SANDAG Build NCC

🦺 But, how? And why?
The sand is being dredged from the nearby San Elijo Lagoon (which is also undergoing improvements) + piped out to the beach. Late last month SANDAG Build NCC crews installed a conveyance pipeline to begin moving the sand.

The sand nourishment will add protection to the shoreline from coastal storms, help with erosion control, enhance habitats + increase the rec space along the beach. It’s also a great way to use the dredged material from the lagoon.

This is all part of Build NCC — an ongoing, $875 million project to improve highway, rail, environmental + coastal access in North County communities like Solana Beach, Encinitas + Carlsbad that began in 2017.

Once phase one is completed in 2023, improvements will include:

One new Carpool/HOV lane in each direction along Interstate 5 — between Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach + State Route 78 in Oceanside.
Double-tracking the rail + replacing the San Elijo Lagoon highway bridge.
Restoration of the San Elijo Lagoon.
Constructing nearly 7 miles of new bike + pedestrian lanes.

You can keep up with the project here.

The sand nourishment efforts at Cardiff State Beach should be completed by March 2022. | Photo via SANDAG Build NCC

🌊 What to expect during dredging:
Starting this week, crews have pumped up their efforts, working 24 hours a day, Monday-Saturday, to stay on track to finish by March. The beach remains open. Locals and businesses along S. Coast Highway 101 will sea more traffic + construction equipment on the beach. Daytime noise, back-up alarms + lights are part of the process, too.