It’s become a running joke in Bradenton Beach to say the beach groins project is almost complete.
For a while, it looked like the project to rebuild the three erosion-control groins at Cortez Beach between Sixth and 13th streets south would wrap up Sept. 15, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“There’s been some unforeseen circumstances,” Bradenton Beach Mayor Bill Shearon said Sept. 21. “We just have to be positive about it.”
Charlie Hunsicker, director of the Manatee County Parks and Natural Resources Department, said in a Sept. 20 email that two of the center groin’s deck plates had settled during the onslaught of waves and surf from Hurricane Hermine.
Hermine passed about 240 miles from the Anna Maria Island shore the week of Aug. 29, bringing with it heavy surf and strong tides.
Repairs to the groin were expected to take 77 days as of Sept. 20, bringing the new completion date to Dec. 1.
The prolonged repairs are due to the use of pre-cast concrete forms, which require 28 days to cure to full strength before they can be transported to the work site to replace the two damaged spans.
While the county waits for workers to return in mid- to late-October, the construction equipment and trailer will remain on the beach in the sectioned-off parking area near 10th Street South.
The pedestrian walkway through the area is open prior to the start of construction, although the beach and parking area remain off-limits to the public.
The groin project began in March 2015 with a projected end date of December 2015. When the December 2015 end date passed, the project was extended to January, then to March, April, May, July and finally Sept. 15, 2016.
Additional costs from the newest setback for the project have yet to be determined, according to Hunsicker. The project originally had a total budget of $5 million.
The three original groins, also called “Three Piers,” known as a popular spot for surfers and fishers, were constructed in the 1960s to help prevent beach erosion. But years of being subjected to the elements and neglect, left the groins in disrepair and the decision was made to replace the groins as a part of the county’s 2013-14 island beach renourishment project.
An email from Thomas Pierro, director of coastal restoration at Coastal and Maritime Services, the company managing the project for the county, said the deadline for the project could be pushed back due to “unpredictable factors, such as potential weather-driven delays.”
Frustrated by the delays and complaints from the public, Shearon said, “Hopefully it will be completed this December.”