Collier awards $5M contract to restore Naples Beach

Collier County commissioners awarded Fort Myers-based Earth Tech Enterprises a roughly $5 million contract Oct. 13 to replenish 3.5 miles of Naples Beach with more than 208,000 tons of sand. The $8 million project will stretch from Doctors Pass to just south of 21st Avenue South, with sand trucked from Stewart Mining in Immokalee. Equipment staging is expected to begin in late October, with construction scheduled for completion by year-end. Crews will work Mondays through Saturdays, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a Thanksgiving break. Beaches will remain open, although active work areas will be fenced off. Tourist development taxes will fund the project, with potential hurricane-related reimbursements.