Parts of Sunset Beach closing so crews can begin dune restoration post Hurricane Idalia
TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. - Parts of Sunset Beach on Treasure Island officially closed Wednesday as crews got ready to start work to restore the dunes following Hurricane Idalia.
It’s part of the county’s emergency shoreline stabilization project. The Pinellas County Board of Commissioners approved the transfer of $21 million from the Capital Projects fund Tuesday to fund the project. About $6 million is going to Sunset Beach.
A county spokesperson said officials are reviewing triaging other beaches like Pass-a-Grille, Belleair, Clearwater, North Redington, Madeira and Belleair Shores. They’ll be posting maps and schedules as they make decisions on the county’s website. The county is seeking reimbursement or cost-sharing from the state, the spokesperson said.
In Sunset Beach, Jason Beisel, Treasure Island’s Spokesperson, said about 60 percent of the dune system is gone.
"It’s kind of like starting over," he said.
"It’s still a beautiful beach, but we're just missing a lot of our dune system that we desperately need to help protect the neighborhood and to help to protect this area of the island," Beisel said.
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Beisel said Wednesday and Thursday, city and county crews will stage their equipment, block off streets and plan out the restoration efforts. Work will officially start Friday.
"We already were losing some of the beach because of the renourishment process, and so after the storm, we were just very surprised at how much that surge took out. A lot of the vegetation, a lot of the dunes that have been here for years. And so, it's very important that we get this [restoration] because there's not a lot of beach to protect the Sunset Beach neighborhood," Beisel said. "These dunes do a great job of preventing erosion and helping against storm surge, and without them, we could see a very serious situation in the near future."
The dune system in Sunset Beach that naturally protects the coast from erosion is over 40 years old and this part of Treasure Island was already one of the most eroded before the storm. According to Beisel, crews will bring in 40,000 cubic yards of sand and build dunes four feet high.
The sand comes from a state approved sand mine that the county has that meets the characteristics of the existing sand.
Crews are working to restore dunes at Sunset Beach.
"In the future, we'll talk about putting on vegetation to help keep those dunes in place. Because when you put sea oats, trees or anything on the roots help keep those dunes in place," Beisel said.
While crews work, the beach south of Caddy’s near nine-thousand West Gulf Boulevard and all Sunset Beach’s parking lots are closed for about a month for safety reasons.
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"It will also help us to get the job done quicker, because if we have people we have to be around or move that impedes the process. So, the more we get the clearance of the beach and the beach clear, the quicker we get this done," Beisel explained.
Restaurants and businesses on Sunset Beach will stay open, but the beach itself and the parking lots will be closed for about a month.
Beisel said about half of the homeowners have signed the temporary construction easements that give them permission to go onto their property to restore the dunes. He said they’ve had good cooperation from property owners, but it’s also difficult that Sunset Beach is a vacation town and not all owners live in the area.
They plan to start work on the south end of Sunset Beach where most people have already signed the easements and work around the properties that haven’t.
Access to parts of the beach will be unavailable while crews work.
Notaries are available from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, at City Hall located at 120 108th Avenue in the Building Department. Beisel said if homeowners have any questions, they can call 727-547-4575 extension 230.
The beach renourishment project with the Army Corps of Engineers to protect the beach from further erosion is on hold until the Corps gets all of the property owners along the project to provide a perpetual easement and sign over access to their land. The easements needed for the emergency project right now are temporary construction easements, Beisel said.
"I know it's a big issue. The county wants to figure this out. The city wants to figure this out. And so, they hopefully they can come to a conclusion and figure out how to get that renourishment started, but right now, it's just a wait and see game until what the Army Corps needs to get it started," Beisel added.
If you have an event scheduled over the next month in a city-owned property on Sunset Beach, Beisel said the Parks and Rec Department should’ve gotten in contact with you regarding where you can move it to. Residents can call the city with any questions.