Cancun Beach Restoration Project 2010

Finally! $71 million later the endless beaches of paradise that make up the Cancun Hotel Zone are here once again.

Just in time for 2010 spring break, the project of restoring the beaches back to their beautiful and tourist-friendly state is finally complete. This restoration project also includes the beaches of Playa del Carmen.

After the devastating category five hurricane in 2005, the Riviera Maya along the Yucatan Peninsula was not left with much in the way of white sandy beaches.

The first attempt at restoration was completed in 2006 but within a year, the refurbished extensions were no match against the natural harsh surf that took much of the sand back out to sea, leaving the beaches narrow and thin.

This time however, more planning and engineering strategies were put into place resulting in well-thought-out, preventive measures. In areas like Punta Nizuc and Punta Cancun where the waves hit hardest, cement cubes have been placed as a water break to soften the blow before it hits the shore, thus eliminating the potential for erosion that would result in Mother Nature reclaiming her sand.

More than 6.1 million cubic meters (1.3 billion gallons) of sand was pumped back to the hardest hit areas of Cancun’s shorelines using two large dredgers. The sand, which is actually fine, broken coral, came from two offshore sandbars. Some areas of the beaches now boast a depth of 300 feet, which hotels are using for evening dining, salsa lessons and spa treatments.

Article and photos courtesy ofA Travel Artist

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