Work continues on the new groins on Cortez Beach

BRADENTON BEACH -- Bill King has had to watch close to 400 sunsets go down behind a crane.

The Bradenton Beach resident, who lives near one of three erosion-controlling groins under construction on Cortez Beach, says it has become a quality of life issue.

"It is blight," King said. "It is a huge noise problem with the equipment. We accepted for nine months. We were forced to accept for 12 months. Now moving into a year and a half. Enough is enough already."

Work on the new groins at Cortez Beach began last spring and after some delays, officials are now anticipated to be complete July 2, according to Charlie Hunsicker, the county's parks and natural resources director.

"At the end of the day, the cost of this project ... is worth the additional time it has taken to move through the project in this way," Hunsicker

said of the project, which is 70 percent complete.

That the pilings had to be driven deeper than what was anticipated to hold the groins in place has contributed to the delays, Hunsicker said. Weather conditions also prevented work to be completed on certain days, Hunsicker added.

"This is a complex construction project in an area of uncertain bottom conditions," he said.

Groins are pier-like structures that jut out into the Gulf of Mexico to help hold beach sand in place. The contractor, Cayo LLC of Fort Worth, Texas, is completing the $5 million project. Half of the funding, $2.5 million, is coming from the state and the local share is from the beach renourishment fund, according to Hunsicker.

The three groins being replaced are along Gulf Drive South at Sixth Street South, 10th Street South and just south of 13th Street South.

"We are working toward having the project completed before July 4," Hunsicker said. "The middle groin is substantially complete. We are focusing now to complete the southern groin."

But King is skeptical that the work will be complete prior to the July 4 holiday.

"We are absolutely in the worst time of year to do this type of work," King said. "Extending from May 15 to July 2 you are smack dab in the middle of hurricane season and turtle season. God forbid an early hurricane comes in June that work will never get completed. This is a direct consequence to not getting the work done in January, February and March when we were assured that work would be completed before turtle season. The consequences of said events are very real. We find ourselves in the time of year that he had great assurances that we would not."

Suzi Fox, executive director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, said sea turtles will still nest and there are permit conditions that have to be met when there are any kind of projects.

"There are protection means up so it doesn't harm them in anyway," Fox said. "The turtles can't go up to the construction zone so they just nest around it. This is a small little tiny project. We have had absolutely no problems whatsoever."

At dark, volunteers go in to check every day whether there are any nesting birds in the area and just before dawn they give the all clear, Fox said.

"We go in and one part of our permit condition, we have to scout around to see if any nesting birds in the area," she said.

While an amendment to the contract approved by the county commission Tuesday extended the completion date to March 31, 2018, Hunsicker said they are expecting the July completion date.

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Work continues on the new groins on Cortez Beach ."