County projects withstand construction delays
Two Lee County projects on the north end of Fort Myers Beach have faced recent delays in construction. Fort Myers Beach Town Manager Terry Stewart provided an update to the FMB Town Council during his meeting report at town hall Monday morning.
While work has begun at the barren Gulf front lots at 1080 and 1130 Estero Blvd. across from Seafarer’s Mall and near Times Square, the work on the yet-to-be-named county park is expected to extend well into tourist season.
Back in November, Lee County Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Manzo anticipated the work to be completed by the end of 2010, after first reporting that work would begin in December. The county official cited a delay in the acquisition in permits to cause the holdup.
“We would like to get the work completed by the end of December if the permits allow,” stated Manzo in an email back in November. The project finally began during the last week in January.
The recent work on the property, which has been roped off since the county purchased it months ago, includes the top of the old seawall being removed for safety; cleaning up leftover demolition debris from the hotels that once occupied the lots; and removing all concrete and blacktop on the south side of the project.
The discovery of an abandoned, underground propane tank is expected to be removed soon, if it hadn’t been done so yet.
Town Manager Terry Stewart said he met with Lee County Construction Supervisor Skip Franklin last week, and he indicated site work will involve ‘cleaning of the soil’ (sifting through soil to remove rock and debris) before additional work can proceed.
Once cleaned, the property may undergo an installation of grass and sand as appropriate before the addition of benches, trashcans, landscaping and a railing for safety with native plantings at the top of the seawall in front of the railing. Manzo indicated the proposed work back in November.
“I think the most important thing for you to know about the project is a project timeline that said it’s going to take them about 60 days to finish,” said Stewart. “I can tell you there are no permits or anything on the town’s part that is holding anything up there.”
There has also been a lag on the timeline for the Estero Island Beach Restoration project, which had been on course to re-nourish the much needed beach shoreline area on the northern 1.2-mile section of Fort Myers Beach.
According to Lee County Coastal Engineer Robert Neal, a problem with the jetty construction subcontractor will back up the March 15 start of the project construction at Bowditch Point approximately one month.
“It’s looking like the project will not start until April 15,” he stated in an email to Town Environmental Sciences Coordinator Keith Laakkonen. “Jetty work will still be first and expect sand placement to begin approximately May 1.”
With that in mind, the project completion date should be set back to mid-September rather than mid-August. Florida Dredge & Dock LLC. was awarded the bid construction on Jan. 25, with the lowest responsive base bid amount of $3,533,486.80 and a project completion time of 150 calendar days.
“It does get us through (tourist) season which some folks expressed a concern about,” said Stewart. “It does put us into turtle season (May 1 start) while the project is going on, but there are ways to work within guidelines that we are required to inhere to.”
Stewart reported town officials have contacted beachfront property and business owners to make sure there is an understanding about issues regarding vegetation.
“I think there is somewhere around 65 to 70 percent of the required signoffs (for easements),” said Stewart. “There are some folks who have not signed and some I do not think will sign.”
According to county documents, the beach restoration project consists of the replacement of a maximum volume of 315,000 cubic yards of fill on north Estero Island.
This project includes the construction of a terminal groin on the north tip of Estero Island, one that is expected to be 240 feet long at the crest by 48 feet wide at the base, and perpendicular to the shoreline. Modifications to the design position may be needed due to current conditions of the beach.
The project’s sand source is expected to be of high quality with very low organic content and would come from 1.4 miles from the area’s shoreline.
Once the beach restoration project begins, there would be bulldozers and lengthy piping on the beachfront. Sand placement would involve a secured 300- to 500-foot area of work to disallow public access. The rest of the pipeline will feature slightly inclined sand ramps which act as walkovers to aid beach goers in their Gulf approach.