Gulfside Road beach nourishment to finish by end of January

Driving along the Longboat Pass Bridge, the dredge equipment in the Longboat Pass channel is hard to miss. The equipment indicates the town's Gulfside Road beach nourishment project is underway. 

Interim Public Works Director Charlie Mopps said he hopes the Gulfside Road beach nourishment project will wrap up by the end of January and, if so, is confident that much of the project — if not all — will be reimbursed. 

The beach nourishment project will fill 80,000 cubic yards of sand onto the erosive Gulfside Road beach using sand dredged from the Longboat Pass channel. 

As of Jan. 9, Mopps said the sand placement portion of the project was about 40% complete. 

The project was originally delayed at the end of last year because of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Now, with the equipment on site, the project experienced more delays because of current weather conditions. 

“Because of the size of the dredge, the contractor has been delayed numerous times because of the recent fronts,” Mopps said. “If it’s a minor squeal out there, it’s not advantageous for that small dredge to operate.”

Cold weather fronts can cause disruptive wave action that affects the dredge operation. Once the weather passes, Mopps said the project team will look to make significant progress. 

“As soon as the weather subsides a bit and the wave action subsides a little bit, we’ll be able to get this ramped up,” Mopps said.

One advantage of getting the project done sooner rather than later is to make sure the beach is clear for the shorebird nesting season, which starts on Feb. 15, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

“We’re trying to get this done by the end of the month because, if we have to continue into February, we might run into the requirement to do shorebird nesting monitoring,” Mopps said.

Mopps said the chances are “pretty slim,” but he wants to ensure the project is done by then to eliminate any risk. 

Another reason Mopps wants the project closed out soon is to increase the likelihood of a partial or full reimbursement from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP). 

Mopps said a grant program through the FDEP allows for reimbursement of sand-only projects for counties that were impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. 

Of the $36 million originally up for grabs, Mopps said there is $15 million still available. 

The town will ask for reimbursements through the project billing process. The first request was $773,000, and Mopps said the town received a notice from the FDEP indicating it intends to award the town the reimbursement.

“I’m hoping that, if we can get this project done by the end of this month, we would be able to submit for up to 100% of the construction and consulting costs associated with this project,” Mopps said.

Then, as the project is completed in phases and the town receives second and third bills, Mopps will submit those to the FDEP for potential reimbursement. 

“I’m pretty confident that we’ll get the second billing at least paid for,” Mopps said. “And then my confidence in getting that final bill paid for is fairly high.”

Long-term fix

The nourishment project is an interim, short-term fix to the erosion issue at Gulfside Road. The naturally erosive beach has caused issues for the town for decades. 

In June 2024, the town’s coastal engineer consultant — Al Browder with Olsen Associates, Inc. — presented an idea for up to seven groin structures to be installed at the Gulfside Road beach as a long-term fix to the erosion problem. 

Courtesy image

“(The project) greatly benefits that area and locks that beach in to reduce the erosional impacts,” Mopps said.

According to Mopps, Browder began the permitting process for this project.

Due to the complexity of the permits and the need to work with multiple agencies like the FDEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mopps said the permitting process will likely take a couple of years. 

One of the prominent structures along the Gulfside Road beach is the seawall of the Ohana estate, which caused controversy in previous years due to how the seawall cuts off complete beach access. 

Additionally, Browder has said in previous presentations the seawall structure likely exacerbates the erosion problem along the beach.