It's on us. Share your news here.

Collier County Commission accelerating beach restoration project before 2023 hurricane season

Posted on January 2, 2023

A massive beach restoration project has been fast-tracked by the Collier County Commission.

“We have a regular beach renourishment beach resiliency program that’s in place, but it’s very slow — it’s very arduous. We don’t want to be in a position where we are barren before another Hurricane season comes along,” said Bill McDaniel, the Chairman of the Collier County Commission.

Dune structures, approximately four feet tall, will be built along the entirety of the Collier County coastline, from North Naples to Marco Island. The dunes are being built in order to make a natural barrier against future Gulf flooding, similar to what happened during Hurricane Ian.

“Bottom line is we can’t take the chance of not having the structures that are out along our beaches having some form of protection,” said McDaniel.

The Collier Commission declared a public emergency for the project in order to make sure the dunes are built before the 2023 hurricane season.

“This is strictly an emergency measure to offer the structures along our beaches some assistance with regard to another storm that could come next year,” said McDaniel.

Construction could begin as soon as the new year. The goal is to have the dunes built by the end of spring. The cost is tens of millions of dollars.

“I am concerned about getting complacent because you never know what the Lord is going to send us with the next storm,” said McDaniel.

Source

It's on us. Share your news here.
Submit Your News Today

Join Our
Newsletter
Click to Subscribe