Walt Wesley, former Kansas Jayhawk and first NBA player from Fort Myers, passes away at 79

Work begins to keep Clam Pass in North Naples clear of sand

Beachgoers spend an afternoon at Clam Pass Park in North Naples on Wednesday, July 5, 2017. Clam Pass is at risk of filling with sand and closing up.

Crews started emergency work Thursday to fix a North Naples inlet in danger of filling with sand.

The work marks the third time in four years that Clam Pass has been in need of a rescue and comes just a year after a major dredging project.

Rough winter weather on top of a series of tropical storms dating to last summer have pushed the inlet's path to the north and has left a steep bank of sand on the beach north of the pass.

More:Emergency work planned to keep sand from closing Clam Pass

More:Clam Pass dredging starts race against time

More:Brent Batten: Clam Pass permit comes through, not a minute too soon

The beach at the inlet will be closed while workers use heavy equipment to realign the pass and fix the erosion.

Project managers expect minimal disruptions at nearby Clam Pass Park, although parts of the beach may have to be closed occasionally for trucks to haul sand down the beach.

Workers will be on the job seven days a week during daylight hours until the project is finished. The work is expected to be done within two weeks.

Sea turtle monitors will check the beach every morning for nests, and workers are required to steer clear of them.

Collier County has a 10-year permit from the Army Corps of Engineers that allows maintenance work at the inlet, which feeds a 560-acre estuary with shallow bays and tidal creeks.

Before the 2016 dredging project, 8 acres of mangroves had died in the Clam Bay estuary because of inadequate flushing.

More:Heavy rains, drainage-upgrade work put North Naples church at flooding risk

More:Florida beaches damaged by 2016 storms not ready to weather this hurricane season

Water still is flowing through the pass, but engineers say it is not enough to keep the mangroves healthy. Record rainfall is adding to the urgency.

Clam Pass is especially pesky to keep open because it is a small, natural inlet with no jetties to help keep it in place.

The current project is expected to cost $112,000. The money will come from the county's tourist tax, but Pelican Bay homeowners will pay for part of the project that puts sand on its beach.