Fort Myers Beach renourishment receives $8M in funding from FDEM

This week, Fort Myers Beach finally received the green light from FDEM for beach renourishment.

Now, with $8 million in funding, the trucks can get to work.

Fort Myers Beach has been planning beach renourishment for quite a while.

Hurricane Ian eroded about 220,000 cubic yards from the north to the south end of the island.

“I think it’s great,” said Michael Hecker, a yearly visitor from Minnesota. “They’ve gotta do something.”

“Nothing wrong with that at all,” said Greg Hairr, a visitor from Virginia. “Continue the good work.”

The project stretches from the south end of Fort Myers Beach at Big Carlos Pass, all the way to the Margaritaville resort.

Along with adding sand, crews are installing new berms and renourishing the beach scour.

“We’re hauling in about 112,000 tons of sand to restore this beach back to pre-hurricane conditions,” said Chadd Chustz, Environmental Projects Manager for Fort Myers Beach.

The island’s north end is still waiting for FEMA funding to begin its renourishment project.

“This is a stopgap,” Chustz said. “We have hurricane season coming up. We want to provide as much protection as we can.”

The south-end project is expected to last three months.

Source: winknews.com