Gasparilla Island Restoration

(Boca Grande)

 Gasparilla Island project is a segment of the Federally authorized Lee County Shore Protection Project as generally described in the August 1999 Corps of Engineers report titled "Lee County, Florida Shore Protection Project, General Reevaluation Report." 

The project extends from 19th (R-10) Street to the south end of Gasparilla Island (R-21), inclusive of a portion of Gasparilla Island State Recreational Area. Approximately 1,072,000 cubic yards of beach fill material were  placed on the approximate 3.2 miles of shoreline between December 2006 and May 2007. This shoreline has been defined as critically eroded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

The project is designed to extend the shoreline between 145 and 216 feet initially, allowing for a 20 foot extension of the 1995 shoreline at the maintenance interval of 7 years. The berm, or sandy part of the beach, is designed  at approximately 4' above the mean tide level.

Additionally, two composite rock and sheet pile T-groins and a segmented breakwater are being considered at the southern tip of the island, adjacent to Belchler Road. These structures are designed to reduce sand losses created by wave action near Boca Grande Pass; while, also reducing the tidal energy created by the pass. The tidal energy should be dissipated by deflecting the incoming tide (flood) away from  the shoreline as the current travels long shore. 

The T-head structures are designed to extend approximately 1-1/2 feet above the mean tide level and 200 feet wide at the seaward end of the structure. (The height of the structure equates to approximately 3/4 of a foot above the average high water level.)

The segmented breakwaters are designed at an elevation approximately 2-1/2 feet above mean tide level, or 1-3/4 feet above the average high water level for the area.

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