Flagler Beach neighbors say newly constructed stretch of A1A passed first test this storm season

Flager Beach, FL. — A1A in Flagler County is one of the most breathtaking drives.

The ocean is just feet from the highway, which also makes the road vulnerable.

In 2016, Action News Jax told you when major erosion caused part of the road to crumble after Hurricane Matthew.

Neighbor Jeremy West remembers the devastation. “It was completely destroyed,” West said.

Most of it was falling in or there were parts that were just, you know, there was no road left,” West said.

The Florida Department of Transportation had to repair a nearly 1.5 mile stretch of A1A between 22nd St S. and 9th St. S.

The $22.4 million project was finished earlier this year.

The project included one lane of travel in each direction separated by a landscaped median, drainage improvements to control water runoff and reduce undermining of the roadway and strengthening the dune with additional sand and vegetation.

Monday, crews were seen adding in new massive rocks to reinforce the sand dunes along A1A as Tropical Storm Isaias continues to crawl up Florida’s coast.

Even though the storm stayed off the coast, neighbor Jeremy West said it was the first test to see how the road would hold up.

“It seems to be working really well with the drainage,” West said.

“If another storm comes in hopefully, they’ve done the work needed to be done and we don’t have to worry about the road collapsing again.

Cox Media Group