FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. — A rain storm Friday washed away sea dunes along three blocks of State Road A1A in Flagler Beach, causing officials to shut down the roadway while a temporary fix was made.
The washout happened between 11th and 13th streets.
City Commissioner Rick Belhume blames the Florida Department of Transportation for the washout, something he said happens constantly along A1A.
“That’s a big issue,” he said. “It’s going to happen every time it rains.”
Every time the dunes wash away, tax dollars are spent to rebuild them and make the roadway drivable, Belhume said.
If the dunes had been put in place correctly to start with, that wouldn’t be the case, he said.
“The DOT didn’t watch the project closely enough or engineer the project to keep the water from washing (the dunes) out,” Belhume said.
Workers spent several hours Friday building up the washed-out dunes before the road reopened at about 7 p.m.
FDOT says this was just a temporary fix and that construction for a permanent solution will begin in the fall of next year. FDOT tells WFTV that they are committed to keeping the road open and to making repairs as necessary to the best of its ability.
Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/JYXYA3DGSNHUHHIWQUR4DNX6LM.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/DHHOAAGQ2RDMTDE6X5SIY3MVIM.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/MSAJUV3VQBEVFNTWYR5ZAHWGSE.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/6AJ3APUJVZAYBLD7KSN32UPSAE.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/DD6UEHJGKVBIZO4GF5NSPP377E.jpeg)