St. Johns County, FL — In an update Thursday, St. Johns County announced Mickler’s Landing Beachfront Park will reopen Saturday instead of Friday as crews working on the FEMA Dune Enhancement project will be leaving the area. We’re told crews will be leaving the area by the end of the day Friday and heading to a different beach access point to continue the project.
Joe Giammanco, Director of Emergency Management for St. Johns County, says the delay in reopening the park was due to getting it ready for people to use again.
“That’s why we had this little extra time going through Friday and having it officially open on Saturday morning, just to make sure all those safety features are in place”. Giammanco says.
Once the park reopens Saturday, it will have regular hours through the Summer season.
Giammanco says once the park opens there won’t be any major changes, you’ll see just some minor wear and tear, but he says that should be restored. Giammanco is urging people to stay off the sand dunes as much as possible since there are newly planted sea oats in them. Signs will be posted so you know where to go and where not to go.
Once that season ends, the county says parking lot improvements will take place, and Giammanco says those improvements will include paving and resurfacing of the parking lot.
The FEMA Dune Enhancement Project started last October and will enhance the existing sand dunes along 11 and a half miles of beaches along the St. Johns County coastline.
The project is expected to wrap up in October this year.