FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Fort Myers Beach town leaders are moving forward with a study to explore building a protective wall along the coastline that could help reduce flooding damage from future storms.
Watch as Fort Myers Beach Community Correspondent, Anvar Ruziev, explains the proposal.
On Monday, engineering firm JR Evans proposed a study examining stronger dunes, wave-mitigation walls, and hybrid living shorelines as potential solutions for our barrier island community. The goal is to minimize damage from storm surge events like those experienced during Hurricane Ian.
"The whole purpose is to reduce the energy of the waves so they don't progress inland and damage properties," Elizabeth Fountain said.
While council members expressed support for the initiative, they acknowledged the island's biggest challenge will be getting private property owners to agree on a unified approach.
"If everyone does their own thing, it won't work. We need uniformity across the island," Vice Mayor Jim Holt said.
The engineers emphasized that collaboration with property owners will be essential for the project's success, noting that without widespread participation, the protective benefits may be limited.
"Ideally, I think it would be nice to know specifically who those properties are and actually I would probably like to talk to them," Fountain said.
The town council voted unanimously to move forward with the study at a cost of approximately $62,000. Town leaders hope grants can help cover the price tag.
According to the presentation, engineers will deliver their initial findings in about six weeks.
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