Progress on Punta Gorda seawalls

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Damaged seawall in Punta Gorda (CREDIT: WINK)

It’s been over a year since Hurricane Ian hit and many Punta Gorda residents are dealing with damaged seawalls.

The City of Punta Gorda is working to get them fixed. Crews have already repaired 38 properties and 31 are under construction.

“We’re fortunate that work is underway, but funding for the project is still being sought,” said Melissa Reichert, assistant city manager.

The overall cost to fix all of the seawalls comes to nearly $38 million. FEMA funds can cover nearly 88% of the expenses. The city is reaching out to the state, hoping they can assist in covering the remaining $5 million.

“The city’s mindset is definitely to lessen the burden on the residents. It’s been enough of a burden having their seawalls gone, having to move their docks, those types of things. So the trip up to Tallahassee is to restore our residents back to normalcy,” said Reichert.

According to Reichart, the state has previously been receptive with their requests in the past. After Hurricane Irma hit and based on the city’s visit to Florida’s capitol last week, she said the state has decided to put a placeholder for these expenses in their budget.

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