Construction began earlier this month at the Bridge Street beach access in Bradenton Beach, where a crew is putting up a walkover to protect the dune.
The work will be completed before May 1, the official start of the sea-turtle nesting season, according to city officials.
Meanwhile, city officials continue to await a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for a dune-protection project at Third Street South. The city wants to straighten the access at the location, which is used by emergency personnel to enter the beach.
“Hopefully we’ll get that quickly,” said Mayor Bob Bartelt. “What we want is to shift the cut 10 feet to the north so that it aligns to the center of the street end.”
That also would deter beachgoers using the access from walking on private property. And, with the planting of some bollards, protect the dune, Bartelt said.
A third proposed dune project would be located in the 100 block of Gulf Drive North. City officials, LTA Engineers and representatives from ELRA Inc., which owns the BeachHouse Restaurant, are in preliminary talks on a major dune construction.
The city owns a lot about 50 feet wide and fronting Gulf Drive and across from city hall. A larger section of the property — about 200 feet fronting Gulf Drive — is owned by ELRA Inc. The private property nearest the street is used for overflow parking at the BeachHouse, but most of the area is used as a wide path to the waterfront.
ELRA has proposed paying for the engineering and design work on the project, as well as for the dune construction on its part of the land, while the city would pay for improvements on its parcel.
The project ranks No. 1 in Bradenton Beach’s 2009 hazard mitigation plan, which details strategies and steps to protect property against storm damage and flooding.