Repair work begins on South Jetty in Venice; walkway reopening awaits paving

VENICE – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the West Coast Inland Navigation District started long-awaited repairs this week on the South Jetty walkway in Humphris Park. The jetty was damaged by the storm surge generated by Hurricane Idalia as it passed Sarasota County on its way to an Aug. 30, 2023 landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida's Big Bend area.

Idalia reached Category 4 intensity, with onshore winds, rough surf and storm surge producing significant flooding along Sarasota County – notably destroying a portion of Manasota Beach Road near Englewood and flooding the St. Armands Circle shopping district in Sarasota.

Combined damage from Idalia in Sarasota and Manatee counties approached $5 million.

Damage to the South Jetty of the Venice Inlet and at Humphris Park was among the most significant recorded at Venice area beaches.

While Venice public works employees were able to grade the parking lot and the Jetty Jack’s snack bar reopened once that was repaired, fishermen have been unable to use the South Jetty for almost 11 months.

The North Jetty on Casey Key was not as severely damaged and remained open for most of that time.

One reason for the lengthy delay was the time it took for the Army Corps of Engineers to bring in large rocks for what is technically a temporary fix of the South Jetty walkway.

What is being done to repair the Venice jetty walkway?

More than 30 tons of rocks have been brought into Humphris Parks since July 22 and have been placed along both sides of the walkway to fill in empty spots and enhance stability of the jetty, built in 1937, when the channel was dredged between Roberts Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

David Ruderman, the Army Corps spokesman in Jacksonville, stressed that the integrity of the South Jetty itself and the the inlet was never in jeopardy after Hurricane Idallia.

“It is basically a cosmetic repair, in part to make it available to the public,” Ruderman said.

Placement of the large rocks was scheduled for completion July 26, weather permitting, he added.

After that, the walkway atop the South Jetty must still be repaved – something that city public works staff is scheduled to accomplish.

Venice spokeswoman Lorraine Anderson said via email that it is “expected to be complete in a couple weeks.”

Is Venice's Humphris Park open now?

The park and more than half of the parking lot – which also serves as overflow parking for the Crow’s Nest Restaurant, Tavern & Marina – and Jetty Jack’s remained open while workers have been placing big rocks on the South Jetty.

The jetty itself is still closed to the public and individuals ignoring the “Jetty Closed” signs to fish from the jetty are subject to a $75 fine.

Chris Johnson, operator of Jetty Jack’s said the reopening of the jetty walkway will “be a huge improvement to our community fishermen, bigtime.

“The tip of the jetty is the best fishing and they guys who get set up first catch the most fish,” he said then added that many of those people have likely gone to the North Jetty or the Venice Municipal Fishing Pier instead.

“Those guys would normally come up and buy a hot dog or a soda and we don’t have that,” Johnson said.

What’s next at the Venice Inlet?

The Army Corps of Engineers is working on a larger, long-term project to restore both the South Jetty and North Jetty to their original specifications.

That project is still in the planning stages, with no timetable for when it would occur.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Repair work begins on South Jetty in Venice; walkway reopening awaits paving