Crews have begun staging equipment at Lido Beach in preparation for an emergency renourishment project that is scheduled to begin as early as this weekend. The contractor for the City of Sarasota’s short-term project, Coastal Dredging Corp., will spend the next few days laying pipe and bringing in equipment, with the renourishment work to follow. The project will take approximately 90 days to complete. The emergency renourishment is intended to address the critical erosion of Lido Beach. Approximately 185,000 cubic yards of sand from New Pass will be utilized to renourish Lido. The beach will remain open through the duration of the project. Beachgoers are advised to use caution and stay aware of active work zones and any equipment operating in the area. The project cost of $3.9 million is being shared by the City of Sarasota, Sarasota County, the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); the City’s funding portion is approximately $600,000.

The City and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are also proceeding with a larger, long-term renourishment of Lido Beach that would regularly recycle additional sand from Big Pass over a 50-year period as needed. That project is expected to begin in the fall of 2019, pending ongoing legal challenges.

City of Sarasota