Beach renourishment begins on south Pass-a-Grille

The signs are up, posted on formidable-looking metal gates: No Trespassing. And Danger, Construction Area, Keep Out.

No south beach access for you!

Every 10 years, Pass-a-Grille Beach needs to be “renourished” with fresh sand. After a decade of natural erosion, along with the constant hammering of hurricanes and other Gulf Coast storms, the beach shrinks and weakens, its profile significantly diminished.

Monday morning near Pass-a-Grille’s 4^th Avenue entrance, an offshore dredge began pumping sand – mixed with water – onto the southern beach, where it was immediately spread, and dried in the sun.

The north beach remains open to the public.

Pinellas County Coastal Management Coordinator Dr. John Bishop called the 2024 renourishment effort “the ultimate recycling project,” because much of the sand, “borrowed” from the nearby Pass-a-Grille Inlet and Tierra Verde’s Grand Canal, had most likely washed off Pass-a-Grille in the first place.

More than 140,000 cubic yards of sand are being distributed, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The “new” beach will be approximately 165 feet wide.

“Without regular renourishment, these beaches would continue to erode back,” Bishop said. “We wouldn’t have a beach. So it’s very essential that we continue this process, both for its environmental protective benefits – it does protect all these homes, these streets, the infrastructure – but it’s also a main economic driver of Pinellas County.”

Public beach access, from the Paradise Grill snack bar south, is closed until September, when the $4.5 million project will move to the north section of the beach. Bishop said erosion is always much worse on the south end, so work on the north beach will require a shorter amount of time.

Bottom line: Pass-a-Grille will be ready and waiting when the snowbirds return.

Pinellas County is footing the bill for the Pass-a-Grille renourishment project, as it’s still locked in a dispute with the Army Corps of Engineers over permitting and public easements.

Dr. John Bishop.

“In the past,” Bishop explained, “the Army Corps would just come in here and do it, and they would pay about 65 percent. It varies a little bit depending on public access and parking availability.

“We had to pay 100 percent for this, but in partnership with the state we’ve already applied for grants – grants to fill up to 50 percent of our share.”

Bottom line: “It needs to be done either way.”

Because Gulf beaches are prime nesting areas for endangered loggerhead sea turtles – they come ashore at night to dig nests in the sand – Pass-a-Grille has been monitored every morning by a local, licensed conservation group.

Every nest discovered since early May – the natural start of nesting season – has been carefully relocated to another beach. It has to be done quickly, one the day of discovery, to keep the developing embryos alive.

Pass-a-Grille businesses will remain open and accessible throughout the project area. However, pier access and approximately 40 beach parking spaces on Gulf Way, between 1st and 3rd Avenues, are closed.

Beachgoers, should they travel to the south beach, are advised to stay clear of the renourishment site and heavy equipment.

“It’s a temporary fix,” said Bishop. “It’s not something where we nourish once, and we can walk away and never come back. It helps create a beach that’s great for the economy, great for the sea turtles and has a lot less environmental impact. And it’s actually relative cost-effective.”

The County maintains an up-to-date beach renourishment website here.