ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — If your holiday weekend plans include a trip to Gandy Beach in St. Petersburg — be warned.
Close to half of that area just on the west side of the Gandy Bridge is closed off due to a pipeline project.
Regular Gandy Beach visitors know parking is hard to come by there. And on holidays, it’s that much more challenging.
Add to that, this year workers are installing a 2,200-foot gas line.
So, expect to see even more concrete barriers, heavy equipment, gates – and huge sections of the beach completely off limits.
“It's going to be packed,” Gandy Beach visitor Sue Anthony said. “And there's going to be a lot of disappointing people that come here for Memorial Day.”
“I think a lot of people are going to have to find an alternative just because there's no access and there's no room,” neighbor Ryan Lang said.
In September, the Florida Department of Transportation, which owns the Gandy Beach property, also installed nearly 900 wooden posts to protect the sensitive mangroves. That also limited parking.
The pipeline project, which will increase capacity for the nearby Duke Energy Weedon Power Plant, is expected to last three to four weeks.