MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. — Hurricane Milton was the latest storm to damage areas of Sebastian Inlet State Park, but a project is getting underway to make one area safer and more resilient.

The North Jetty pier at the park is set to close Nov. 4 due to the $2.5 million project.

Milton and previous storms have damaged parts of the jetty.

Temporary emergency fixes have patched up the jetty following Milton, but now a permanent plan is in place.

“This is going to be a hardhat area, with cranes, moving rocks, boulders, heavy equipment,” said Ed Garland of the Sebastian Inlet District.

The project involves fortifying a 190-foot stretch with large granite boulders and constructing a sheet pile seawall with a concrete sidewalk deck.

“It may be a little disappointing for the anglers who go there all of the time, but the rest of the park will be open,” Garland says.

The district also says the popular jetty webcam has been uninstalled because it’s in the construction zone, but they are exploring putting up a temporary one.

Anglers are slightly disappointed to lose their fishing spot for months to come, but they understand why the work is being done.

“That’s a bummer,” said Jose Perez, an Orlando barbershop owner who was at the North Jetty on Monday. “I’m going to have to find somewhere else to fish. It’s a great place, but if they have to do some work on it by all means,” he says.

The project is expected to be complete by July 2025.

The last significant work done on the North Jetty was back in 2002.