Work begins on buried seawall project along A1A in Flagler County

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — The first phase of a buried seawall project along State Road A1A in Flagler County is now officially underway. Crews can be seen working around South Central Avenue and will eventually move down the coast into northern Volusia County.

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Crews are currently building a platform along the beach. Once completed, they’ll start drilling into the sand to assemble the wall.

FDOT Communications Manager for the area, Matthew Richardson, explains the buried wall will start at south Central Avenue in Flagler Beach and stretch to one-half mile north of Highbridge Road in Volusia County.

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It will eventually be covered with sand and vegetation and look like a natural dune. He points to the ongoing problems people living along A1A have dealt with following Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022 and said the wall should be the solution.

“There was a lot of damage that took place on State Road A1A, and as many in this area are familiar with, there is damage that continues to happen,” Richardson said. “So, in order for us to make permanent repairs, we needed to look into a process which was the secant seawall,” said Richardson.

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After trouble with some temporary fixes, resident Tim Currie calls the wall an encouraging step.

“They put all those boulders down, and then we had a nor’easter come in and kind of push stuff around,” Currie said. ”You would not believe the size of the rocks that got pushed around.”

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Construction will last well into next year, which could mean some temporary dune walkover closures. But Richardson said all of the work is being done with beachgoers and local wildlife in mind.

“The drilling is a lot different from pile driving. So there is not a loud banging noise you’ll hear. It is more like an engine sound from the drilling that will take place,” Richardson said.

The second seawall will start at Sunrise Avenue and extend to Marlin Drive in Ormond-By-The-Sea. That work is scheduled to start this summer.

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