Work is being done to protect the sand at one of the most popular beach destinations in the world.
Crews are fixing up the old groins that sit in the water off of Cortez Beach near Coquina.
“Without those groins we’d be losing most of this beach at this location,” said Charlie Hunsicker, the Director of Parks and Natural Resources with Manatee County. “It would also threaten the dune vegetation behind the beach and ultimately Gulf Drive which is a primary evacuation route.”
Hunsicker said during storms, the groins protect the sand and keep it in place. He said to make sure the groins continue to work, they’re replacing them. They were built in the 1950s and 1960s and are in bad shape.
The work is expected to take 9-months to finish and should cost around $4 million. The work is being done during one of the busiest times of the year.
During the month of March, a lot of snow birds and spring breakers visitors are in town enjoying the beach.
Hunsicker said it was difficult to find the perfect time to do the work.
“We’ve lost a sense of a season here,” said Hunsicker. “We’re basically busy through the summer and into the fall. It just had to start and we could not risk missing yet another year of construction to take into account the busiest season of the year.”
It’s an inconvenience residents and visitors said they don’t mind.
“It will keep the beach from eroding,” said Ron Jones, a Bradenton resident who likes to walk along the beach.
Recently, Conde Nast Traveler listed Coquina Beach as having the best sand in the U.S. and was listed as the fifth best beach in the world.