Longboat Key's Durante Park reopens after hurricane repairs

When Hurricanes Helene and Milton came across Longboat Key in 2024, they left behind broken boardwalks, downed trees and damaged trails in Joan M. Durante Park. 

Fourteen months later, the repairs are complete and the park, along with its 1.4-mile walking trail, is once again open to the public. 

Town of Longboat Key staff, like residents, continued the rebuild process long after flooding ripped up boardwalks and observation decks in the park. Longboat Key Streets, Facilities, Parks and Recreation Manager Mark Richardson said 5,200 square feet of boardwalk were replaced in the project. The repairs cost the town $330,000.

Image courtesy of David Kushnir

Richardson said the reopening has been a welcome sign to visitors.

“We had people out there even when it was under construction. We put up the barricades, but people could still walk around,” Richardson said. “People are thrilled that all the trails are back open.”

The walking trail of Durante Park varies from boardwalks over marshy areas to crushed shell on flatter, more navigable land. Richardson said there is about 12,000 square feet of boardwalks and observation decks in the 32-acre park with a little less than half replaced after damage from the hurricanes. The replacement work also incorporated hardening measures to withstand potential future storm surge, Richardson said.

Image courtesy of David Kushnir

“We upgraded the sizes of the boardwalks to make it more resilient for the future,” Richardson said. “We made some changes to the pilings. Instead of 4x4 posts, we now do 6x6 posts.”

The gazebo, however, is still closed to visitors.

“It’s been closed for almost two years because it was deemed structurally unsafe,” Richardson said. “We have a (request for proposal) that’s going out to hopefully fix that up so it can reopen.”

Next up is Quick Point Nature Park.

The same contractor that completed the repairs at Durante Park will now head to the southern tip of the island to make the same types of repairs to Quick Point, replacing sections of boardwalks and observation decks. The price is a bit more, $376,000, and the contract states work is expected to be completed on April Fool’s Day, no joke.