The town of Fort Myers Beach announced a major project has begun along its shores.
The Estero Island Beach Nourishment and Hurricane Recovery Project began on Monday and will dredge approximately 950,000 cubic yards of sand onto Fort Myers Beach.
According to the town's news release , the sand is coming from a nearshore borrow area in the Gulf of Mexico.
Construction will start on North Estero Island near Bowditch Park. It will be the first staging area for equipment to access the beach.
Officials said Ahtna Marine Construction Corporation is transporting and assembling dredge pipe along the permitted pipeline corridor.
This area stretches from the nearshore borrow area in the Matanzas Pass ebb shoal to the beach at FDEP Range Monument 178 by 500 Estero Boulevard.
Operations, including equipment transportation and laying pipe along the beach, are scheduled for July 15.
The town of Fort Myers Beach said the process will go as the following:
- Dredge pipe will be laid from the borrow area through the corridor onto the beach and then north toward Bowditch Park.
- Ahtna will construct the beach north to south from 100 to 500 Estero Blvd.
- The dredge pipe will be redirected southward, continuing to build the engineered beach from north to south.
According to the town of Fort Myers Beach, environmental precautions are being taken to monitor shorebirds and sea turtle nesting by Florida Fish and Wildlife-approved monitors. They will continue monitoring as pumping begins.
Officials said they expect construction to take six months.