VENICE – Progress on repairs to high profile areas following damage from hurricanes in 2023 and 2024 continues in Venice, with the glass flood barrier atop the new seawall at Tarpon Center Drive unveiled, while supplies are arriving to fix the Venice Municipal Fishing Pier.
The glass flood barrier atop the 400-foot-long Tarpon Center Drive Nature-Based Flood Mitigation Pilot Project is virtually complete. Passersby can see the basin, though it and the accompanying sidewalk are still behind a chain link fence that should be removed soon.
The seawall was damaged by storm surge from Hurricane Idalia in 2023.
The $3 million project raises the height of the seawall for better protection against storm surge and sea level rise.
The road in the area was repaved earlier in July.
Additionally, reef balls have been placed under the water along approximately 100 linear feet of the seawall. These reef balls provide living habitats for fish, oysters, plants and other marine life.
Work to repair the portion of the Venice Municipal Fishing Pier damaged during the 2024 hurricane season is anticipated to begin Aug. 11.
The contractor, Tampa Bay Marine Inc., is staging materials near the site.
The work includes removal and replacement of hurricane-damaged framing, decking and railing on the pier’s T-section, leaving primary structural components, such as the beams, pile caps and piles in place.
The cost is estimated at $410,000.
Sections of the pier not damaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the bait shop – all of which are currently open – will remain open during construction, although there may be some intermittent closures during the project.
Once commenced, construction is expected to be complete in four to six weeks.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New view of Tarpon Center Drive basin in Venice unveiled; pier repairs to start in August
Reporting by Staff Report / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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