Midnight Pass

GRAEF partnered with Sarasota County to conduct all coastal, civil, and geotechnical engineering services required to plan, design public communications, and provide Federal and state permitting for the construction of a project to reopen Midnight Pass, closed since 1983.

Key Project Elements Included:

• Planning Design and Engineering Services
• Large Scale Hydrodynamic Modeling, Flushing and Water Quality Analysis
• Beach Nourishment Design and Sediment Budget
• State and Federal Construction Permits and Develop a State Approved Inlet Management Plan
• Geotechnical Investigations (Core Borings) and Biological Mapping and Assessments
• Develop the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) EA Documents
• Analyze Project Benefits and Formulate a Funding Program
• Design and Engineering for the Mitigation and Restoration Projects
• Community Involvement and Education (Public Meetings, Workshops and Project Web Site)
• Mitigation Design to Restore Jim Neville Marine “Spoil Islands” using Flushing Channels and Seagrass
  Restoration

Benefits of the Midnight Pass Reopening Project included restoring tidal flows and improving water quality within Little Sarasota Bay, creating a productive marine environment, providing sand for beach nourishment, and stabilizing the adjacent beaches. In addition to creating recreational opportunities for boaters and fishermen, returning seagrass habitat to spoil islands that surround the Pass was a priority.