Beach restoration project ends before deadline
The sand placement process has ended. The tractors are no longer spreading sand. The contractor dredging equipment has ceased operations. The fencing has come down. Re-nourishment on the northern part of Fort Myers Beach is complete.
The Estero Island Restoration Project completed construction at 7 a.m. Monday, days before Christmas week and its target date of Dec. 31. Florida Dredge & Dock should have the demobilization process completed by the end of the week, according to Project Coordinator Robert Neal at the final progress meeting at Pink Shell Monday evening.
“(The completion) coincided with their shift change (Monday morning),” said Neal. “Once they remove all of their equipment, it will also give us a chance to complete the tilling on Thursday and Friday. I’m very confident by Saturday that we will have all the equipment off the beach and the contractor will be well on its way to somewhere else.”
The next step for Lee County Natural Resources department is the monitoring process. Annual depreciation will be determined by that method.
“From this point, we will be entering the monitoring phase,” said Neal. “We will have someone to take measurements to quantify how the beach is performing. At the end of January, we will take one continuous survey on the whole project area and use that as our base line for years moving forward.”
The wider beach on the northern 1.2 miles of Estero Island should hold for at least seven years, says Neal. The tilling process -raking to a depth of 24 inches- will continue for three of those years before Feb. 15 on that annual basis.
“We aim for seven years at a minimum and hope for 10,” he said. “During the first three years, we will revise that estimate. We are required to till the beach annually for the next three years.”
The restoration project began at Bowditch Point with a jetty-building process and sand placement operation and ended at the southern terminus of Crescent Beach Family Park. It began May 1, had its share of weather and mechanical delays and withstood a change order that extended the timeline from Nov. 20 to year’s end. Operational changes were also made to improve the contractor’s production rate.
Throughout the summer months, Florida Dredge & Dock witnessed abnormal seasonal wind patterns -southwest-to-west winds- that were reported to have caused contractor equipment problems and damage. The overall output saw steady improvement after the contractor changed “cutterheads” in mid-July.
“We think it was a great project. The regrading process should be done by Friday at the latest,” said Neal. He reported a ribbon-cutting ceremony would occur in late January.
Roughly a total of 390,000 cubic yards of sand were placed during the full project. The unofficial number falls short of the estimated volume of 420,000, but comes within the project’s expected range.
“It’s not really the width that was cut short, but the height (of sand placement) at some locations,” said Neal. “It is above our design goal, so we are happy with what is out there.”
All but two properties signed easements for the project. Those two properties have suffered sand depressions and water pooling. The remaining properties will enjoy the benefits of more sand and will undergo a vegetation process when the rainy season arrives.
“We will come back in April, May or possibly June to enhance the probability that the vegetation placement will survive,” said Neal. “We will be working with the property owners with the three or four plans that the Town has identified from their menu items.”
The project coordinator said the vegetation would be 75 percent across each individual property and six feet wide. He believes Crescent State Family Park may begin the vegetation process sooner due to the county park’s watering system.
“That’ll be a park’s decision,” he said.
Neal said there were some “interesting materials” found during the dredging process. He listed ammunition and coal among the item dug up, but not gold or anything of value
Project cost breakdown for the 1.2 miles of restoration involves $2 million from Florida Department of Environmental Protection, $1.4 million from Lee County; $675 from WCIND and $110,624 from the Town of Fort Myers Beach.
NEXT WEEK: Jetty and channel analysis.