A1A coastal byway reopens in Flagler Beach after hurricane damage repaired

FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. — When Hurricane Matthew hit the Florida coast in early October, it left a swath of destruction in its path, including the devastation of 1.3 miles of the A1A coastal byway in Flagler County.

“This is a historic road in Florida. Many businesses depend on this. We are going to make sure this is a good, permanent fix,” said Gov. Rick Scott.

Eighteen days after Scott ordered the restoration of the highway to be expedited, it reopened to the public on Monday.

“During Hurricane Matthew, A1A was severely damaged and required extensive restoration,” Scott said in a news release. “The Flagler Beach community relies on A1A for its livelihood, and the road needed to be fixed immediately.

The storm washed away chunks of the road south of the Flagler Beach Pier near the Topaz Motel, county spokeswoman Julie Murphy said.

“As we recover from Hurricane Matthew, our top priority is to get people back to work and back in their normal routines. I appreciate the hard work that went into making this happen so quickly,” said Scott.

Even though the road is open, officials stressed that it is a temporary fix. Crews still have to make repairs to the sea wall and damaged dunes.

The fix is expected to cost just under $4 million. It will be performed by Halifax Paving. Channel 9 learned that the company is eligible for an additional $1 million from the state if it can finish everything in fewer than 45 days.

“There were incentives on this job, and obviously the importance of getting this roadway opened justified it,” said Secretary of Transportation Jim Boxold.

Some businesses said the cost is worth it to get the road reopened and customers through their doors again.

“We were devastated, and they were saying six months to a year, and we were so worried that we were going to have to close down our business after 30 years in business,” said John Lulgjuraj, the owner of Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill.

Cox Media Group