165,000 tons of sand on the move to replenish Naples beaches

Sand on the move…

More than 165,000 tons of sand is being trucked across Collier County from a mining facility in Immokalee to one of the locations to spread across Park Shore, North Park Shore, and Clam Pass Beaches.

Gary McAlpin, Manager at Coastal Zone Management, says they’re currently renourishing 10,000 feet a beach near Seagate.

From Park Shore beaches to Clam Pass, crews are working from dawn to dusk every day to get these beaches up to par.

Visitor Edel Fitzgerald said, “It’s actually great to see that because at least you know somebody’s looking after the place.”

Along Gulf Shore Boulevard, visitors and homeowners can expect to see a lot more trucks driving around for the next three months.

Right now, about 55 trucks are making three turns a day. That’s a total of 330 passes of a given point along the route.

McAlpin hopes to eventually double the trucks coming in and out, “If we don’t have really good clean, beautiful beaches, tourists are going to find another place to go, and that’s why we want to maintain the quality of the experience.”

The beaches they’re working on have been monitored since January.

After this project is complete, the beaches will be renewed, and the structures will also be better protected.

The project should be done by the first of the year, if not sooner.