Fort De Soto Repaving to Close 7 Miles of Road, Trail From Mid-September Through February

Fort De Soto Park is about to get noisier and slower to drive through. Pinellas County says repaving will begin in mid-September on roughly 7 miles of roadway and 6.6 miles of adjacent trail, covering the entire stretch from the south approach of the Bayway Bridge along Pinellas Bayway South through the full length of Anderson Boulevard. The work is expected to run through February 2027, weather permitting, according to the county's project page for the park, last updated September 10.

For anyone who drives to the beach, fishes off the piers, or bikes the loop around Mullet Key, that is most of the way in and most of the way through the park under construction at the same time.

The paving is one piece of a much larger repair effort. Fort De Soto took heavy damage from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in the fall of 2024. Storm surge and flooding wrecked electrical and wastewater systems, boat docks, fishing piers, dune walkovers, seawalls, sidewalks, park roadways and the Quartermaster Museum. The county has been working through those repairs in phases ever since, and the roadway is now part of that queue.

What's closing, and when

The road and trail work covers the same corridor: Pinellas Bayway South from the bridge approach, then the length of Anderson Boulevard to its east end. As part of the project, the county is also adding a new trail connection to Anderson Boulevard near East Beach, giving cyclists and walkers a route that did not exist before.

Other repair projects nearby are on their own timelines. The northeast end of Anderson Boulevard near Mullet Key, where Hurricane Helene tore up the roadway base and broke off sections of the travel lanes, is a separate project. Design there wraps up this summer, with construction starting in late 2026 to rebuild the traffic circle.

Boat docks still mostly out of service

Boaters have a separate headache. The floating docks and boat ramp area at Madelaine Key were badly damaged by Helene's storm surge, and nearly all of the floating docks remain out of service right now, with just one still usable. The county says the contractor is demolishing the old docks and will move into concrete repairs before setting new docks, gangways and handrails.

Ramp construction is happening in phases, with three to four ramps closed at a time. Each group stays closed for about a month before crews shift to the next section. The full boat ramp is expected to reopen by late December 2026.

Several smaller repair projects around the park are wrapping up or already done. The Quartermaster Museum's ramp and roof repairs are complete. The dune walkover and boardwalk north of the Gulf Pier were rebuilt over the summer. Seawall and sidewalk repairs near the Gulf Pier, along with the North Beach restroom repairs, are designed with construction planned for spring 2027. Campground seawall replacement is slated for early through summer 2027, and a broader shoreline protection project covering the campground area and Bunces Pass Cove isn't expected to start construction until early 2028.

Planning a fall or winter visit

Fort De Soto remains open during the work, but families heading down for a beach day, a fishing trip or a campground stay this fall should expect construction traffic, lane shifts and possible detours along the main corridor for the next several months. The county has not said whether specific sections will close to vehicles entirely at different points in the project or whether traffic will simply be narrowed and slowed.

The county's project page is being updated as work progresses, and it is worth checking before a trip if the visit depends on a specific road, trail or dock being open.

For more on this and other Pinellas County news, visit Pinellas County Community Website or follow us on Facebook. Got thoughts on the Fort De Soto construction timeline? Join the conversation in our Community Forum. You can also read more Pinellas County alerts and community news as this project moves forward.

Header photo: Christopher Hollis / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)