A sandy beach in the Bahamas. http://url.ie/11nst

A potential solution to a troublesome sand shortage off southeast Florida is tucked away in a massive water resources funding bill President Barack Obama signed into law last month.

The 2016 Water Resources Development Act authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to study the potential of using foreign sand, such as from the Bahamas, to widen shorelines and protect coasts from hurricanes like the ones that lashed the Big Bend and northeastern Florida last summer.

In its “Shrinking Shores” investigation last year, the Naples Daily News reported Miami-Dade and Broward counties have exhausted their deposits of available offshore sand, leaving only sand that is too far offshore to retrieve or is nestled among protected reefs or other underwater marine features. -AP

Today's top stories

Construction Market Boosts Economy

Bobcat Company Donates $885,000 in Equipment to Support Salvation Army's Disaster Relief Efforts

VIDEO: KEMROC Expands; Plans to Increase Nationwide Presence

'Machinery Pete' Interviews Jack Lyon On RFD TV

VIDEO: Two Major Roadway Project Contracts Awarded by State Officials in West Virginia

VIDEO: First of Two Sections of NYC's $1.45B East Side Coastal Resiliency Project Is Complete

John Deere Construction Introduces Flexible Customer Training Options

INFRA Grant Moves Ohio's N. Coast Connector Project Steps Closer