The dredge is back in Longboat Pass, and for the second time in three years the sand on the bottom of the channel is being turned into beach. This time, under the Town’s sand-sharing agreement with Manatee County, none of it is coming to Longboat Key.
Manatee County’s 2026 Coquina Beach Hurricane Idalia Storm Damage Repair Project began dredging Sept. 9 and is running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Crews are pumping roughly 63,450 cubic yards of sand from the Longboat Pass navigation channel onto about 0.9 miles of shoreline on the south end of Anna Maria Island, from just south of 13th Street South in Bradenton Beach to the pass itself. The dredging also restores navigable depth through a pass that shoals quickly, with the contractor cutting to 15 feet in places.
Public Works Director Charles Mopps alerted the Town Commission before the equipment arrived. “What can be expected is the same type of dredging activity the Town experienced when we dredged the pass, to successfully complete our Gulfside Road Segment nourishment project in 2024-2025,” he wrote. “The Dredge should arrive in the pass and work is anticipated to start this week. The project should be complete within 90 days.”…