Spring Break Beach Projects Hold Strong

The Fort Pierce renourishment is part of a long-running federal shore protection project that began in 1971. The current $15.1 million contract, awarded to Manson Construction Co., will place approximately 400,000 cubic yards of sand along a mile of shoreline just south of the Fort Pierce Inlet. Funding for the project is split, with the federal government covering 77.76% of the cost and St. Lucie County providing the remaining 22.24%. In Pinellas County, which includes Tampa Bay beaches, the recent emergency beach nourishment was a massive $125.7 million undertaking. The project added an estimated 2.5 million cubic yards of sand across 12 miles of shoreline, an amount that could fill The Dali Museum over 40 times. This was primarily funded by a tourist development tax, a 6% levy on overnight stays, which generated over $153 million for various projects in 2025 alone. Tourism is a major economic driver for the county, with an impact of over $10 billion in 2025. The alcohol ban on the beaches of Gulf Shores during spring break has been in effect annually since 2016. The policy was first implemented to counter issues with large crowds, binge drinking, and illegal drug use. This year, the ban runs from March 1 through April 28. In addition to the long-standing alcohol restrictions, Gulf Shores police are now proposing to make the existing midnight curfew for minors even stricter. The success at Sunset Beach is part of a broader coastal resiliency strategy in East Hampton, which has been developing long-term plans to address storm damage and sea-level rise. Following recent storms that devastated the primary dune at nearby Ditch Plains, the town and state funded a project to construct a 16-foot-tall engineered dune to provide enhanced protection for the neighborhood. This is seen as an interim measure to buy time as the town implements its wider Coastal Assessment Resiliency Plan, which includes strategies like managed retreat from the coastline.