Dredging equipment started running around the clock this week at Coquina Beach, kicking off a project to rebuild nearly a mile of shoreline stripped away by Hurricane Idalia. The south end of the beach is now closed to the public while crews move 63,450 cubic yards of sand back onto the coastline, with construction fencing marking off active work zones and the project expected to wrap up in November.
According to Manatee County Government, the work is officially titled the 2026 Coquina Beach Hurricane Idalia Storm Damage Repair Project, and it stretches from Gulf Drive S to Longboat Pass. The county says the sand itself is being pulled directly from the nearby Longboat Pass navigation channel, a move that restores the eroded beach while also clearing a boat channel where sand naturally piles up, as reported by AMI Sun. That dual purpose — beach repair and navigation upkeep — is why officials describe the project as improving passage through the pass while restoring the shoreline.
Dredging of the Coquina Beach restoration project started this week to restore nearly a mile of Coquina Beach with 63,450 cubic yards of sand lost to Hurricane Idalia.
— Manatee County Government (@ManateeGov) September 10, 2026
The project, which is federally funded through FEMA at a 75% cost share, with the balance split evenly between… pic.twitter.com/0o9f6wq6vq
Who's Paying, and How the Bill Gets Split
FEMA is covering 75% of the project's cost, with the remaining balance split evenly between the state and county. Per the same account, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is paying 12.5% while Manatee County's Tourist Development Council beach renourishment fund covers the other 12.5%, meaning bed taxes collected from short-term rentals are directly underwriting the sand replacement. The procurement trail behind the project dates back further than the dredge barges now working offshore: Manatee County issued its formal bid solicitation, IFBC-26-TA006451ED, in May, and finalized a notice of intent to award in July, according to DemandStar.
The county isn't waiting on federal and state reimbursement checks to arrive before moving dirt. In June, the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners allocated $6.18 million in Tourist Development Tax revenues to advance the Anna Maria Island renourishment work while those outside reimbursements are processed, according to Manatee County Government. It's a cash-flow maneuver that lets contractors start dredging now rather than wait months for federal and state dollars to land.
Turtle Nests Moved Before the Machines Rolled In
Because the work is happening during sea turtle nesting season, volunteers with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring relocated 42 sea turtle nests out of the Coquina Beach work zone before heavy equipment started operating, the AMI Sun reports. Manatee County says project operators will try to keep beach access available whenever possible, though access points near active construction may be temporarily closed as work progresses.
The timing lines up with other turtle-related concerns already surfacing on the island this month. Hoodline recently reported that Anna Maria Island lost 55 hatchlings to beach lighting, prompting a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission warning around Labor Day.
This Is Just the First of Two Projects This Year
The Idalia repair now underway is the first of two beach restorations planned for the island in 2026. A much larger U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project is slated to begin in November, addressing combined sand losses from Hurricanes Idalia, Debby, Helene and Milton across Anna Maria Island, with work continuing through spring 2027, per the AMI Sun's reporting. Manatee County natural resources officials estimate that coordinating the two efforts into a single combined mobilization with federal partners will save roughly $4 million in contractor deployment costs, according to the Business Observer.
For scale, the last major federal renourishment cycle at Coquina Beach, completed in late 2020, placed roughly 250,000 cubic yards of sand onto the non-federal segment of the beach, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District. The current Idalia repair's 63,450 cubic yards is a much smaller, more targeted fix aimed specifically at storm damage rather than routine multi-year erosion.
Breakwaters and Reefs Add to the Defense
Sand isn't the county's only tool against future erosion. Manatee County approved state grant agreements in 2025 allocating $375,000 from FDEP for four offshore breakwaters and groin removals at Coquina Beach, along with $60,000 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for artificial reef mitigation, according to The Anna Maria Islander Newspaper. Those structures are designed to absorb wave energy and help keep newly placed sand from washing away again.
Beach maintenance costs also remain tangled up in an ongoing local debate over how to pay for it all long-term. Manatee County leadership has been weighing whether to introduce paid parking at Coquina Beach and Manatee Public Beach to build a dedicated, self-sustaining fund for coastal protection, a proposal Hoodline covered in its report on the county's proposed parking fee plan. For now, the dredges keep running day and night off Longboat Pass, and Manatee County says updates on the project's progress will be posted online as the November completion target approaches.
