A $21.5 million beach restoration project on south Siesta Key that will add some 690,000 cubic yards of sand onto the beaches is scheduled to begin next month, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.
County commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved the project, along with the creation of a special taxing district for property owners in the affected area.
New Jersey-based Weeks Marine won the contract and will start the restoration in January. The project will be completed before sea turtle nesting season, which begins May 1 and lasts through November.
Sand for the beach renourishment scheme will come from an offshore site about nine miles away.
County officials have been considering the renourishment since 2011 but it took several years to get the various state and federal permits, the Herald-Tribune informs.
[mappress mapid=”21659″]