VERO BEACH, Fla. — A part of the Vero Beach coastline for more than 50 years will not be rebuilt.
The City Council decided Tuesday to replace the damaged boardwalk at Humiston Beach with a concrete sidewalk.
The boardwalk was destroyed during Hurricane Nicole in 2022 and later demolished by the city.
WPTV asked city leaders why, and found out the new plan is designed to stretch city dollars and allow budgeting for other safety projects.
“It was an easy decision for a lot of reasons," said Vero Beach Mayor John Cotugno. "One of course was economically."
Resident Barbara Dunst, who was enjoying lunch at Humiston Beach on Tuesday, recalled walking the boardwalk, which used to be a part of the beach.
"It’s lovely, it’s off season, I can find a parking space," she said.
The new sidewalk was by far the least expensive of three replacement options presented to the council.
The three options presented to council were: A concrete boardwalk on the face of the dune with a $2 million price tag; a wood boardwalk at the back of the dune at a cost of $1.6 million and a concrete sidewalk at the back of the dune with a price tag of $700,000. Staff recommended to council option three, which passed unanimously.
“Instead of trying to force a solution on Mother Nature, which you’re always going to lose, we’re going to try and adapt to it," said Cotugno.
The lower cost of the concrete sidewalk will allow the city to do add-ons, like improve the existing lifeguard stations.
“So now we’re going to be assessing how to give them improved visibility as part of a long-term part of this project because it just makes sense to do the projects together," said Assistant City Engineer Danessa Chambers.
The new sidewalk will still allow views of the ocean for people who can’t walk down to the beach, as well as benches and shade coverings. But for Dunst, it still won’t be the same.
“I’ve been here a long time and I like the idea of the boardwalk and I would miss it," said Dunst.
Design and construction of the sidewalk will take two years as the building work can only be done outside of turtle nesting season.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will contribute about $284,000 to the project.
