Collier County spending $3.5 million for beach renourishment project

The beach looks good now, but Mary Anne is all for anything to improve it. Anne is visiting Southwest Florida from Canada. She comes for the sun, surf and the sand like countless other visitors.

Money from those tourists is an influx to the local economy. That is why Collier County will use your money to restore our beaches after commissioners approve $3.5-million for a beach re-nourishment project.

Commissioner Bill McDaniel said the project would help keep the beaches resilient before a storm hits. Beachgoers say they are on board with the plan.

“Thank God,” Monica Gange said. “Yeah, absolutely happy that the county is doing what they need to do to take care of all of us so we can keep enjoying this beautiful place.”

Penny Taylor, a Collier County commissioner, said it is the cost of doing business. The beaches need to be at their best to keep the visitors coming to visit. Moreover, beach erosion threatens the economy.

Soon we will see 80 trucks each weekday, from sunrise to sunset, bringing 165K tons of sand to Clam Pass, North Park Shore, and Shore Beaches.

The county has plans to ease congestion on the road when all the sand makes it’s way from Immokalee. The county plans to use electronic truck tracking to control traffic to and from the mine. The project is expected to start late next month.

Taylor told WINK News the sand is going to continue to erode. “But what it does is it builds up the beach,” she added, “so you just wait until the next time that the water washes the sand away.”

“As long as they keep it clean,” Anne said, “then it’s great we love coming here.”