A major project to renourish Lee County’s Bonita Beach and Lovers Key State Park begun on Monday. The $5 million renourishment project will help shore up roughly two miles of the eroded beaches.
The projects consist of adding sand to 0.8 miles of Bonita Beach and 1.1 miles of Lovers Key Beach. These new projects include the renourishment of about 9,800 total linear feet of beach, which requires about 401,000 cubic yards of sand that will come from two permitted borrow areas adjacent to Big Carlos Pass.
During the work, turtle monitors will move nests that are laid in the path of the beach equipment as it moves down the beach.
Beach access will be available to Bonita Beach as well as Lovers Key during construction for all areas except for a 500-foot zone where sand is being actively placed.
The project is being done by Lee County with additional funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Bonita Springs. The completion deadline for the project is late October.
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Dredging Today Staff, July 8, 2014