The multi-million beach renourishment project on Fort Myers Beach is officially underway. Construction will begin on the north end of the beach near Bowditch Park, which will serve as the first staging area for equipment to access the beach.
Approximately 950,000 cubic yards of sand will be dredged from a nearshore borrow area in the Gulf of Mexico and placed onto Fort Myers Beach.
Ahtna Marine Construction Corporation is currently transporting and assembling dredge pipe along the permitted pipeline corridor from the nearshore borrow area in the Matanzas Pass ebb shoal to the beach at FDEP Range Monument 178 near 500 Estero Blvd.
Beach operations including transporting equipment and laying pipe along the beach are planned to begin on July 15th. Dredge pipe will first be laid from the borrow area through the corridor onto the beach and then north towards Bowditch Park. Once set, Ahtna will construct the beach north to south from 100 to 500 Estero Blvd. Then the dredge pipe will be redirected South continuing to construct the engineered beach from north to south. Construction is expected take 6 months.
Renourishment was originally expected to start on the south end. The Leonardo Arms section of the beach is in dire need of renourishment. However, complications in the bidding process delayed the project and into turtle and shorebird nesting season. That also moved the starting line to the north end. Turtle Time has been relocating any turtle nests found on the north end.
When this $22 million beach renourishment project is complete, on top of the recently completed truck-haul sand replacement project, Fort Myers Beach will see $43 million worth of new sand (1.3 million yards). The $22 Million beach renourishment project is being funded through multiple sources: Lee County, The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, FEMA and the town.
TLM = Turtle Lives Matter 🐢
Kurt and I dropped our lawsuit against the state over the ownership of the beach in front of our property which saved the Town of FMB and Lee County about 3.7 million dollars. After the beach renourishment is finished, don’t be surprised if the lawsuits over the ownership with all the property owners continue.
One of our first years on the beach, about 15 years ago or so, they were doing a project very similar to this. While it was loud and kind of a nuisance for this trip, the following year when the beach was twice as wide, was well worth it. Glad to see this being done again… Especially on our North End.
I never understood that they could move a nest It is shocking to me That they would hold this project up as bad as the south end of the beach needs this sand, and then to understand that they can move the turtles and are willing to do that for the north end I know people are going to come back at me about the birds But you can get within a half mile of the end of the beach before you get into the bird sanctuary so I will never understand it One group puts that whole area in danger and they could’ve been moved