Posted on August 18, 2025
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Two major milestones this week for Fort Myers Beach as the town is seeing real progress with its iconic Fort Myers Beach pier, and its beach renourishment project is expected to be complete by next week.
Fort Myers Beach’s massive beach renourishment project, working to restore the shoreline, is finally coming to an end after months of trucks, pipes, and sand. Crews have been working their way toward Newton Park.
“We had some weather that damaged the dredge and needed to do some welding, so that set us back a couple of days, so we’re looking at early next week,” said Chadd Chustz, Fort Myers Beach’s environmental projects manager.
Chustz said the project was designed to repair damage from Hurricane Ian — and even helped stabilize the beach after storms last year.
“We’re looking to get it wrapped up and have the protection of the extra sand out there to help dissipate the storm surge, should we get any major storms,” he said.
Chustz also said the removal of the black pipe will be complete by the end of the month. Melody King, who lives on the island, will sure be glad to see it go.
“That big black pipe running down the beach is like a bubonic plague of ‘what is going on Fort Myers Beach?'” King said. “We are stoked that it is over, and I’m sure our turtles are too.”
Meanwhile, further down the beach, attention is turning to the pier. The iconic pier is one step closer to a rebuild after Hurricane Ian wiped it out.
Gulf Coast News is learning that the Army Corps of Engineers is expected to approve permits within the next 30 to 60 days. Once that clears, bidding for construction begins.
The pier could be open by the summer of 2027, a whole year earlier than expected.
“It cannot come soon enough,” King said. “We miss being able to walk out onto the sea and see what’s going on out there.”
