Work is beginning on a 60-day Lido Beach dune restoration project in Sarasota, Florida, designed to protect coastal roads and property from storm surge and erosion.
Heavy machinery is being moved into position ahead of construction, which is due to start on or shortly after Monday, September 21. The City of Sarasota said public access to the beach would remain open throughout the project.
Lido Beach dune restoration project
Contractors will use about 3,000 cubic yards of sand from a recent maintenance dredging operation at New Pass to build a 1.2-mile stretch of dunes, around two feet high.
Once the sand has been shaped, crews will plant Florida-friendly vegetation to help anchor the dunes and reduce the amount of sand lost to wind and waves. Post-and-rope barriers and warning signs will be installed afterwards to protect the newly formed coastal defences.
The dunes are intended to absorb wave energy and provide an additional barrier against flooding, helping to shield Benjamin Franklin Drive, nearby properties and other coastal infrastructure during severe weather.
“It’s not only good for tourism and people coming to the beach, but it’s also good for protecting the upland infrastructure and properties up here and also provides resilience for the future,” said Nikesh Patel, Sarasota’s public works director.
The scheme forms part of a wider coastal protection programme involving the City of Sarasota, Sarasota County and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The city says the broader effort is backed by $12 million in federal disaster relief funding secured to restore and strengthen Lido Beach after repeated storm damage.
As well as helping to slow erosion, the vegetated dunes will provide nesting areas and shelter for coastal wildlife. The city’s wider project also includes beach renourishment using sand dredged from New Pass, with most of the beach expected to remain accessible while work is under way.
Construction is expected to take about 60 days, although the timetable remains subject to weather and site conditions. ([engage.sarasotafl.gov](https://engage.sarasotafl.gov/lido-beach-renourishment))
