Later this month crews will start spreading 216,00 tons of sand across Collier County beaches to revitalize our sandy shores for residents and visitors alike. The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) at their meeting on Oct. 14 awarded Dickerson Infrastructure, Inc., a company from Fort Pierce, the contract to haul sand and place it on both Vanderbilt and Pelican Bay beaches. This company was vetted and determined to be well qualified to handle this project.  It will be their first time contracted by Collier County for this type of work.

The overall project cost for both beaches is estimated to be about $7.5 million. Since Vanderbilt Beach is open to the public per County Ordinance 2018-31, the BCC also authorized $5.5 million in Tourist Development tax funding (commonly referred to as the bed tax since those staying in Collier County accommodations pay the tax) for Vanderbilt Beach portion of the project. The Pelican Bay Beach renourishment will be funded by the Pelican Bay Services Division since it is not a public beach.

This project will be like other beach renourishment projects handled by Collier County over the past several years utilizing trucks to haul beach quality sand from Stewart Mining in Immokalee. Crews will spread the sand across 2.9 miles of Vanderbilt Beach and Pelican Bay Beach from Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) reference monuments R-22+300 (near the Bluebill Avenue beach access) to R-37+000 (about 1000 feet south of the Pelican Bay North Pavillion).

Mobilization of equipment and staging area set up for the project are expected to start in late October followed by the start of sand placement. Staff are working with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office to define staging areas and coordinate maintenance of traffic support. The beach turnaround at the end of Vanderbilt Beach Road will be closed to traffic for the duration of the project.

The contractor is expected to complete the Vanderbilt Beach portion by early December then work on the Pelican Bay Beach portion with completion of the entire project expected in mid-January 2026. Crews will cease project operations for short breaks over Thanksgiving (11/27/25 -11/30/25) and the Christmas/New Year’s holidays (12/24/25 -1/2/26). The hours of operations will be six days a week, Mondays through Saturdays, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For additional information, please contact Coastal Zone Management Section Manager Andy Miller at (239) 252-2922. If you prefer to email any questions or comments, please send them to [email protected].