Posted on September 11, 2024
Nearly two years later, the recovery efforts from Hurricane Ian continue on Captiva Beach.
People WINK News spoke with said it’s a work in progress since Hurricane Ian, but they are hopeful as more time passes and more sand is brought in for beach renourishment.
People are eager to see Captiva Island get back to normal.
“We want to see the other businesses open; we want to see the islanders back to 100%, as opposed to like 40%,” said Michael Miller.
Miller, the general manager of Green Flash Restaurant, said the $25 million Captiva renourishment project is a step in that direction.
An offshore dredge collects sand from underwater and pumps it onto the beach.
This will repair the damage to Captiva’s beaches caused by changing tides, hurricanes and beach erosion and improve the storm protection provided to the island.
The executive director of the Captiva Erosion Prevention District, Daniel Munt, believes the beaches will come back better than before.
“And once the construction kicks off, the beach will remain open to the public. There’ll be a pipeline laid on the beach, and as we have done in the past, many times, we’ll establish some walkovers so the public can still access the beach and kind of enjoy the atmosphere,” said Munt.
For locals like Carolyn Craig, the atmosphere is what she appreciates the most, and the condition of the beaches is a big part of it.
“This is a beautiful beach for shelling, and I like to get the small shells, some of my favorites, the olive shells. We have beautiful turbinados, serifs, scallops, all different colors, augers. This is a great place to be,” said Craig.
The renourishment project is scheduled to start in May 2025.
On Monday, board members discussed the project with the final budget, which is expected to get approval later in September.
