PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Julie Ferreria and her mom don’t have to go far to get to the beach. Their Indian Rocks Beach home is just steps from the sand.
“First thing my mom does when she gets up is come out and look at the water,” said Ferreria. “It is a little piece of paradise.”
However, in just days, the paradise will look different for a little while.
Pinellas County needs to rebuild sand dunes battered and badly scarred by Hurricane Idalia. In some places, storm surge sliced the dune in half, exposing the roots of the plants that hold them together.
“Idalia wiped out a lot of areas all the way back to sea walls,” added Kelli Hammer Levy, the Public Works Director for the county.
According to Levy, a contractor will truck in load after load of sand to rebuild the dunes. Afterward, sea oats and other vegetation will be replanted. She said the process will probably last until sometime in December.
“It’s a short-time inconvenience for a long-term gain,” she said. “I would just ask everybody to be really patient.”
So, what does the work mean to people who live or visit Indian Rocks Beach?
There will be a noticeable traffic increase, including dump trucks, on Gulf Boulevard during the work.
Also, to keep beach-goers out of the way of heavy equipment, big spans of beach will be closed from 28th Avenue N to 20th Avenue N and from the Happy Fiddler Condominiums to Whitehurst Avenue.
According to a news release from the city, the contractor’s equipment will enter the beach from the beach access points at 1st Avenue and 19th Avenue.
“Give the contractor as much space as they need. If they are having to take time to talk to you about getting off the beach, that’s work not getting done,” Levy said. “We have so many other beaches where people can go and enjoy, and you know, it would be a nice time to see a different beach than you’re used to.”
Ferreria lives right next to one of the beach accesses the work will disrupt.
“The dog will love it,” she laughed. “He’ll be barking all day.”
But make no mistake, she’s all for the work that she thinks is vital for her paradise.
Once the dunes are restored, Pinellas County said the best way you can help protect them is by staying off them.
Only property owners who signed a temporary easement will receive the sand. However, Levy said the county had good buy-in in the two areas it's targeting in Indian Rocks Beach.
