Water-Related News

Estero Island Beach Renourishment project begins this month

It’s summer, the perfect time to hit the beach and soak up the sun, and it’s about to get even nicer with the Estero Island beach nourishment and hurricane recovery project.

“We went walking on the beach and looked for shells,” said a group of kids. “I had a good beach day. I think it was pretty nice.”

Don’t worry; the beach will stay open since the work starts in the Gulf. About 950 thousand cubic yards of sand will be dredged out onto Fort Myers Beach.

“I think the storm protection it offers to both the town’s critical infrastructure,” said Chadd Chustz, an environmental project manager at Fort Myers Beach. “Estero Boulevard and all that stormwater infrastructure that’s there, as well as the upland properties that are beachside, giving them some resilience against the storms that are coming our way and giving them protection against the storm surge and wave action.”

Construction will start on North Estero Island, and they plan to start pumping sand on July 21.

This project costs 22 million dollars, but the town has received grants to cover most of it.