Milwaukee's McKinley Beach construction resumes in effort to reopen

MILWAUKEE - At Milwaukee's McKinley Beach, sand and security fences were the only things soaking up sunshine this summer.

The beach has been closed since 2020 after several drownings, but after a five-week delay, work to rebuild it is back on track.

"Construction has restarted at McKinley Beach to add sand and restore the original design of the beach," said Sarah Toomsen, Milwaukee County Parks' assistant director of planning.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Toomsen said all permits have been approved to push truckloads of sand into Lake Michigan in an effort to tackle erosion and stop rip currents. The county is spending $700,000 on repairs.

"We worked to study what could be happening at the beach, what could be wrong that was causing any increased risks to swimmers," she said.

Toomsen said the study found the problem was beneath the water's surface.

"Consistently we estimated four feet of sand was lost, but near the breakwaters there were holes of lost material that increased a hazard for swimmers," said Toomsen.

Milwaukee County Parks said once McKinley Beach is back open to swimmers, they will notice two things: shallow water and more sand.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.

"More sand would give them more space to play, and perhaps if there is less water, it would be safer because you have less options to be in the water," said Ernesto Rhenals Torres.

The county said there are a few more weeks of construction left. The beach is expected to reopen this fall.

Milwaukee County said to avoid another closure they will be increasing signage on the beach, as well as surveying the water's conditions throughout the year.