PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A huge beach renourishment project is started Monday on Pass-a-Grille Beach.

The two-phase project is expected to take months and county leaders want to make sure the public knows when and where it's happening so residents and visitors can still enjoy the beach while the work is underway.

The project is starting just as peak season is underway for the beach, but officials say there’s no better time than now to make sure the sand here is where it needs to be.

Since there are two phases, there will be portions of the beach closed while the other portion remains open.

The entire project is expected to be completed in October and the pier is expected to be closed for the length of the project.

The county plans to place 10,000 cubic yards of sand onto the beach, which local businesses hope will add much needed storm protection.

"You look at the beach over the years, you see how it’s deteriorated," said Stoney Streib, general manager at The Brass Monkey. "The beach has never been this small in the past 10 years. So, getting it back to what it used to be is going to be good for everybody. It’s going to be good to bring more people out here.”

So what does this mean for beach goers? There’s a link that will keep you updated on the latest with the project.

There’s also a group working with the county to ensure the turtle nesting is protected during this process.

“Once it’s done it’s going to have a total width of about 165 feet,” said Dr. John Bishop, Pinellas County’s Coastal Management Coordinator. “After the 2014 project it was that wide, and it eroded back to this point. We need to replace this sand every 10 years or so or it will continue to erode back.”

As of Monday, the beach is closed from 1st Avenue to 9th Avenue including the fishing pier. And about 40 beach parking spaces on Gulf Way between 1st Avenue and 3rd Avenue are also closed for the duration of the project.