FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — Fort Pierce is breathing a sigh of relief on Wednesday as beach erosion conditions improve, leading one restaurant to reopen its famous “Dune Bar“.

Island Beach Bar & Restaurant previously closed its beachside bar due to safety concerns.

The stabilization is credited to a combination of favorable weather and a recent emergency sand dump that successfully prevented the high tide from breaching the dunes. While the physical shoreline is now more stable, restaurant management says the visual change has led to varied reactions from visitors.

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“Our tourists and people from all over Florida and essentially all over the world that come here that aren’t used to the erosion, they have mixed reviews because they don’t know what it used to look like and also what it’s going to look like,” said Jennifer Cranwell with Island Beach Bar.

Despite the current progress, the work is far from over. This emergency fix serves as a bridge to a much larger, federally funded dredging project set to begin next week. County officials are expected to provide more specific details on the timeline and logistics for that project.

Josh Revord, with St. Lucie County’s Beaches, Port, and Inlets department, says the delay was caused by a combination of poor weather and resource management by federal contractors.

“They have the luxury of figuring out how to manage their resources so that they can fit as many projects [as possible],” Revord explained. “And so that’s just kind of the way the industry works. So we’re somewhat beholden to their schedule.”

While the federal government is picking up the bulk of the tab, St. Lucie County is still on the hook for approximately $1.5 million for this phase of the project.

Revord says the county is currently fighting to keep federal support alive as it looks toward the future.

“We’re squirming our way through this process because, frankly, a lot of people would want to see the project go away,” Revord said. “But from the local standpoint, we see that there’s some obligation for the Corps of Engineers to continue.”

The current agreement with federal partners is set to run through 2032. Still, county leaders are already working to negotiate a 50-year extension to ensure the Fort Pierce shoreline remains protected for decades to come.