SARASOTA, Fla. -- Florida is known for its beautiful beaches, but one Bay area beach is getting attention for a different reason.
The shoreline is so bad, one of our state senators had to see it for himself.
Sen. Marco Rubio walked along a portion of Lido Beach with city leaders and residents to see the erosion firsthand.
Not only was the senator shocked, but he also called the damage an economic development issue as well as an environmental concern.
“I've seen pictures, but this is probably worse than the pictures I saw and just seeing that families were on a declined cliff and how little space there is and how impossible it’s now become to walk on the entire beach without getting cut off,” Rubio said. “It needs to be fixed.”
Hurricane Irma and Subtropical Storm Alberto took about 15 feet of sand from Lido Beach. Dunes in some parts of the beach are also severely eroded. In some areas, building are underwater.
“It interferes with some of the wildlife out here and makes our infrastructure vulnerable to storm damage,” says Sarasota City Manager Tom Barwin.
Barwin says there is a short-term plan to renourish the beach in the fall with 200,000 cubic yards of sand.
Long-term, the plan is to dredge sand from Big Pass to Lido Beach.
The Army Corps allocated $13.5 million toward this project, with full support from Rubio
“The money is approved, so it's there, but now there is a lot of paperwork involved in getting it released,” said Rubio. “We want to cut through that as soon as possible so we're not sitting here a year from now still waiting for the money.”
The city hopes to have the beach back to normal by the start of next hurricane season.
The erosion doesn't impact the entire Lido Key coastline just the southern and northern parts. The main public beach is open.
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