"FEMA has obligated the project, which means we're guaranteed funding for the pier," City Administrator Mell Smigielski told WMBB on September 7, 2026. Three days earlier, the city's weekly report described an email that arrived at 3:53 a.m. saying FEMA had obligated the Al Cathey Municipal Pier at $9,051,440. The report called it "HUGE news" and added, "Now the real work begins."
That work starts at almost the same moment as two other jobs at the Mexico Beach Canal: rebuilding the inlet jetties and repairing and extending the city boat ramp. Read together in the city's September reports, the three projects aim at one thing. Since Hurricane Michael, the town has had a hard time reaching deeper water, from shore and by boat. This fall it starts fixing both at once.
Three projects, three clocks
None of these jobs runs on the same timeline. Here is where each one stood as of the last week of September 2026.
| Project | Contractor | Expected start | Expected finish | Source of the timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Cathey Municipal Pier, end of 37th Street | Not yet named publicly | Mobilization estimated 5 to 8 weeks after the Sept. 8 council meeting | About one year from notice to proceed | WJHG, Sept. 2; council meeting summary, Sept. 8 |
| East and west canal inlet jetties | GCU | Oct. 5, 2026 | About 200 days, near April 2027 | Council meeting summary, Sept. 22 |
| City boat ramp repair and extension | Harders | Sheet piles due late October to early November | May 2027 | City weekly reports, Sept. 4 and Sept. 25 |
The pier and jetty dates in that table come from Citizen Portal summaries of council meetings. Citizen Portal labels those summaries as AI-generated, so they are estimates heard at a meeting. They are not dates from approved minutes. The city's own approved September 8 minutes confirm the pier funding and say construction logistics, materials and traffic management were discussed. They do not name a pier contractor or give a fixed start date.
The pier is moving out to 20 feet of water
The replacement pier keeps the original 840-foot length but sits 230 feet farther into the Gulf. According to WJHG's September 2 report, that puts anglers over water about 20 feet deep. The old pier reached about 6 feet. The rebuild is a different fishing structure in the same spot, designed for deeper water and to hold up better in storms.
Smigielski told WJHG that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit was the hardest part of the process because of strict state and federal rules protecting nesting sea turtles and shorebirds. Nearly eight years after Michael destroyed the original, the permit is in hand and the money is committed.
You'll notice the change on 37th Street. WJHG reported that traffic will drop to one lane during construction so materials can be stored on site. At the September 8 meeting, staff described using part of 37th Street as a materials laydown yard while keeping traffic moving. They also said the city wants notice to proceed timed to when the contractor has materials ready, so the 365-day construction clock starts when work can actually begin. Counting 5 to 8 weeks from September 8 puts mobilization between mid-October and early November 2026. A full year from there puts a finished pier somewhere in late 2027, if the clock starts on schedule.
No public plan yet says what happens to parking at the 37th Street end, whether beach access there changes, or exactly where the lane reduction begins and ends. In WJHG's report, one visitor said he hoped parking wouldn't be affected. The city hasn't announced a decision either way. The September 25 weekly report has no pier-specific update. It does report clear water testing at 37th Street, along with First Street, Eighth Street and Sunset Park.
The jetties decide whether the canal stays open to the Gulf
The pier gets the attention. For anyone who launches a boat, the jetties at the mouth of the Mexico Beach Canal may matter more over time.
FEMA's January 2024 draft environmental assessment identifies them as the east and west jetties at the canal entrance. It says the short, undersized east jetty and the settled, leaky west jetty let sand move back into the canal. That sand means frequent dredging and a channel that is harder to get through. The assessment states the goal as a "safe and navigable channel."
The preferred design in that draft replaces the east jetty and extends it by 152 feet, to 339 feet total, and repairs a 42-foot section of the west jetty. The method it describes works from land, with sheet-pile cores and turbidity controls. Barges and boats are "not expected." The 2024 document describes how the work would be done. It doesn't promise the channel will stay open to boats during construction, and the contractor may have adjusted the plan since then.
The sources also disagree on the damage. FEMA's draft assessment says Michael badly damaged the east jetty and caused minor damage to the west one. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's April 2024 inlet management plan describes the west jetty as damaged and records heavy shoaling in the inlet. Both agree that sand gets into the canal.
At the September 22 council meeting, David Elmo of GCU was summarized as expecting to start October 5 and run about 200 days. Heavy materials would come in by Canal Parkway or Myar Drive, and mats and fenced laydown areas would keep public beach access open. The same summary says shorebird, sea turtle and turbidity requirements were set for review at a September 28 pre-construction meeting. The city's September 11 report said that meeting would cover laydown and storage areas and set an exact start date. As of today, no public record of what was decided there has been found.
The ramp work overlaps the jetty work
The city boat ramp is a separate contract with a separate contractor. The September 4 weekly report said Harders had ordered materials, was mostly mobilizing and doing some prep work, and planned to finish in May 2027. By September 25, the metal sheet piles were due in late October or early November, and Harders would give the city 3 to 5 days' notice before major work began.
Put the dates side by side and the overlap is clear. If the schedules hold, from roughly November 2026 through April 2027 the jetties, the ramp and the pier will all be under construction at once. The ramp would finish about a month after the jetties, and the pier would keep going well past both. The city hasn't published a boat-closure schedule for the canal inlet or the ramp during any of this work. For boaters, the most reliable advance warning is that 3-to-5-day notice to the city, which usually shows up in the weekly report.
Dates to watch through the winter
- October 3: The Mexico Beach logo sign goes up on the back of the new Parker Park amphitheater, weather permitting. The amphitheater project has been closed out with its contractor.
- October 5: GCU's expected jetty start date.
- October 13 and 27: City Council meets at 9 a.m., the most likely place for pier contractor and traffic details to come up.
- Mid-October to early November: The estimated window for the pier contractor to mobilize at 37th Street, along with the expected delivery of boat ramp sheet piles.
- Around late April 2027: The jetty work's roughly 200-day mark.
- May 2027: The boat ramp's projected completion.
What keeps going while the work runs
Most of the fall calendar is away from both work zones. The Mexico Beach Farmers & Craft Market meets at Parker Park, 2500 Highway 98, on October 10 and 24 and November 14 and 28. The event listing gives two different time ranges, 8 a.m. to noon and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., so check before you go. The third annual Halloween Mutt Strut and dog costume contest is October 24, 4 to 5:30 p.m., at the Under the Palms Park pavilion on 7th Street. It's free, with donations going to St. Joseph Bay Humane Society. The Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K starts and finishes at Under the Palms Park at 8 a.m. on November 26.
For anglers, November 29 is License-Free Saltwater Fishing Day, when Florida waives the recreational license requirement. The Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association's September 29 fishing post pointed people to rocks and wrecks as grouper season closed, and it didn't mention the jetty work.
On the Gulf front, Toucan's on the Beach is still unconfirmed. Owner-operator Rob Hammer told WJHG on August 6 that he expected to open "right after Labor Day," with plumbing and signage still to finish. The restaurant's website still says "coming soon," and no public announcement of an opening date has been found.
These projects will change how people reach the water at both 37th Street and the canal through next spring. If you own near 37th Street or the canal and want to know how a year of construction could affect your property, its rental calendar or a planned sale, Chasity Hill follows the city reports every week and can walk you through it. Talk with Chasity — Schedule a Tour.
