MATAGORDA COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — Matagorda County officials have announced the closure of one of their beaches this week due to erosion.
The video above is from a related story: UH geologists find significant impacts on Texas’ coast from Hurricane Beryl
On Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District indefinitely closed a section of federally owned property known as Sargent Beach.
Authorities said they closed the beach due to safety concerns about the significant erosion and compromised infrastructure caused by recent storms.
The designated areas of the boat ramp, mooring dock, and access road, referred to as County Road 238 or West Revetment Road, along the Gulf of Mexico, are now closed.
“The decision to halt beach access ensures that we are doing our part to keep the community free from harm while we work to address options to improve it and make it safe for public use,” Neil Murphy, Galveston District’s public affairs chief, said.
SEE ALSO: Galveston officials assessing extent of beach erosion after Hurricane Beryl
City officials say beach erosion is still affecting Galveston Island after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas earlier this summer.
To prevent access, officials said a gate will be installed with clear signage indicating the closure.
Last month, geologists at the University of Houston said they found extensive erosion on the Texas Gulf coast in Sargent and other areas that Hurricane Beryl caused.
Researchers said Sargent Beach experienced the most significant impact and is now unrecognizable from what it looked like in May.
“The flooding, overwash, and scarping caused by Beryl wiped out nearly all the dunes and left the area virtually inaccessible,” Shuhub Khan, a geology professor at the UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said.
High-resolution images show what Sargent Beach looked like before and after Beryl made landfall.
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