TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The public is being asked to avoid closed areas of Sunset and Belleair Beaches where crews are working on an emergency beach restoration project.

According to Pinellas County, people have been accessing the gulf and walking along the beach, crossing over the newly built-up dunes to get there.

“We’re trying to keep people off these dunes because the more people walk on them, the more people trample them, the more they get destroyed,” said Treasure Island Public Information Officer Jason Beisel. “This is a multi-million dollar project — about $6 million the county is paying. So to already, before it’s done, there’s about two weeks left of work, and before it’s done to have it start getting destroyed by people trampling on it, moving the sand, that’s what we’re trying to prevent.

Part of Sunset Beach south of Caddy’s closed Sept. 20 so dunes washed away during Hurricane Idalia could be restored.

Orange fencing is up along part of the Sunset Beach, and signs warn people to stay off the dunes and that it’s a felony to trespass in a restricted construction zone. 

“It’s necessary, for sure, but people just kind of walk over the dunes anyway,” said Brody Purcell, a St. Pete Beach resident who said he came to Sunset Beach Monday night to watch the sunset.

Matthew Thornton lives in Treasure Island and said coming to the beach is an almost daily habit for him.

“The sunset is gorgeous. It’s why I moved here from the Midwest,” Thornton said.

Thornton told Spectrum News the restoration work had affected his visits.

“We don’t go out on the beach as much as, you know, it’s kind of inconvenient to get out there.”

Beisel said the $6 million project involved 200 truckloads of sand being brought to the beach daily during a two-week period. He said it’s not just the beach that benefits.

“These dunes provide vital protection to this neighborhood. They stop storm surge when it comes in. It stops the wind when it comes in from storms,” Beisel said.

Beisel said crews are expected to begin planting sea oats and vegetation Tuesday, a process that could take up to two weeks. He said Sunset Beach is expected to reopen to the public by the end of the month.

Belleair Beach is undergoing a similar dune restoration, with part of the beach closed in the construction zone. The county asks residents to avoid work areas and dunes there, as well.