FDOT crew working around the clock to repair washout near Myakka River State Park
Sarasota County staff inspected approximately 2,400 properties in the aftermath of Hurricane Hermine’s passage along Florida’s west coast last week and found none having suffered major damage, county spokesman Drew Winchester told The Sarasota News Leader on Sept. 7.
Approximately 31 structures did sustain impacts from the storm, he added, for a total of $691,000 in damages.
A report on erosion at the county’s beaches likely would not be available until late this week at the earliest, Winchester wrote in an email. It took about 10 days following the passage of Tropical Storm Colin in June for such a report to be completed, he noted.
In the meantime, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has been handling one significant problem that resulted from the storm: a washout on State Road 72 east of Myakka River State Park and west of Sidell Road.
Repairs began at 7 a.m. on Sept. 6 and are estimated to take seven days, “barring a major rain event,” an FDOT news release said. “There is an incentive for the contractor to complete the repairs in five (5) days. The contract is a 24-hour day work schedule,” the release added.
Motorists have been advised to follow a detour from State Road 72 to Sidell Road, north to Sugarbowl Road, then west on State Road 70 to Interstate 75 South and back to State Road 72, the FDOT news release said.