Beach project almost complete

Just months ago, residents of Longbeach condominiums could stand on an exposed seawall and directly look down at waves breaking on a concrete structure —the only thing keeping their property from further eroding and falling into the Gulf.

But today, for the first time since 2006, a wide beach is back in place at the north end of the island, and the concrete seawall is now buried beneath thousands of cubic yards of fine, white sand.
The $4.5 million emergency beach project, which brought about 133,000 cubic yards of sand to the severely eroded north end of the island, is almost complete and is expected to wrap up by the end of the month.

The only place left to put down new sand is just north of North Shore Road, behind 360 North condominiums.

Town Manager Bruce St. Denis said he is pleased with the project.

“Our hope is that a couple of years of slow summer-storm seasons will result in us having to place less sand down in this area for future beach projects,” St. Denis said.

If this hurricane season is not a severe one for the area, St. Denis and town beach engineer Coastal Planning & Engineering estimate that only 333,000 cubic yards of sand will need to be placed during a north-end beach project anticipated to occur in the next two to three years. Structures will also be built in the area as part of that project.

“If we’re lucky and the sand stays, that will also reduce the amount of sand needed for a future island-wide beach project,” said St. Denis, who estimates the town might only need to place approximately 833,000 cubic yards of sand down for a future project that would include many other areas of the island.
At a special meeting planned for noon Thursday, June 16, St. Denis will ask the Longboat Key Town Commission to allow him to re-open the North Shore Road beach access this summer when he sees fit to do so.

“It’s my hope we can have that beach re-opened for the Fourth of July weekend,” St. Denis said.

Project follows permit
For the project, sand was placed on the beach from just south of Broadway to just north of the North Shore Road beach access toward Beer Can Island. The 4,015 feet beach segment was renourished by using a town-permitted fine, white sand site located approximately two miles off the northern top of Anna Maria island.

The state of Florida presented the town with a 10-year beach restoration permit Sept. 13, which allowed the beach contractor to rebuild the entire beach profile, or a 200-feet-wide beach that existed on the north end of the island. In addition, the town has permission to restore sand in the area any time it needs to for 10 years, without having to ask for permission from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

The town put aside $4.5 million in its 2010-11 fiscal year budget to pay for the project.