Nearly two months after a costly sand dredging project wrapped up at John’s Pass, city leaders say leftover debris from the old bridge could be undoing the work.
The Florida Department of Transportation demolished the former John’s Pass bridge to build a new drawbridge, which opened more than a dozen years ago. Concrete rubble from that demolition remains in the water and is now visible above the surface at low tide, according to city photos.
Madeira Beach Mayor Anne-Marie Brooks said officials believe the debris is functioning like a seawall, trapping sand that enters the pass and preventing it from flushing back out naturally.
The concern comes after the city spent $1.5 million in state grant money to remove more than 13,000 cubic yards of sand from John’s Pass during a nearly four-month dredging project that ended in late May.
Brooks said the city had hoped FDOT would remove the debris quickly, before it became buried under new sand accumulation and impossible to locate.
Stephanie Berry, owner of Woody’s Watersports and a board member of the John’s Pass Merchant Association, said the dredging effort took nearly six years to secure through state, county, and Army Corps of Engineers approvals. She said the community wants to preserve the results.
FDOT spokesperson Kris Carson said the agency’s contractor will begin removing the debris next week. FDOT expects the debris removal to be complete early next month.
Both Brooks and Berry said they were relieved to see FDOT contractors surveying the site in preparation for the work.
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