- October 10, 2024
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A Florida Department of Transportation project team is designing buried seawalls for Ormond-by-the-Sea and Flagler Beach and working to secure environmental permits to build them, FDOT stated in an Aug. 16 update on the $100-million seawall project.
FDOT proposed the project in March to mitigate and prevent hurricane damage along State Road A1A.
The state hopes to start construction in late 2023 or early 2024, beginning with the seawalls in Flagler County. The seawalls would stretch from Sunrise Avenue to Marlin Drive in Ormond-by-the-Sea, and from half a mile north of Highbridge Road in Ormond-by-the-Sea to South Central Avenue in Flagler Beach. The first wall would span 1.28 miles; the latter 1.3 miles.
Volusia County is still working to fix walkovers damaged in the 2022 hurricanes, but the state’s project may delay some of those repairs.
“Major repairs to walkovers located within the planned seawall areas in northern Volusia County will not be made until after the walls are constructed,” FDOT stated in its emailed update.
The county is also placing sand in critical areas and expects to partner with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in late 2024 for dredge projects at Ponce Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway, according to FDOT.
Design work is just beginning on an A1A resurfacing project from Sandra Drive to the Volusia/Flagler County line. The full project area will ultimately run from north of Granada Boulevard to the county line, and the project would add new pedestrian crossings and other safety enhancements.
Construction is expected to start on the southern segment, from north of Granada Boulevard to Sandra Drive, in late summer 2024.
The project will add six new midblock crossings, a wider sidewalk on the west side of the road and a new sidewalk on the east side north of Standish Drive.
The Ormond Beach City Commission on Aug. 21 sent the Volusia County Council a letter in “strong opposition” to the Belvedere fuel farm proposed for 874 Hull Road.
Belvedere Terminals Company, LLC, received an air construction permit approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Aug. 1. On Aug. 15, following citizen outcry at a commission meeting, commissioners unanimously voted to file an appeal to the permit approval.
“The room was saturated with more than 100 residents eager to voice their apprehension and their plea for a reconsideration of this project,” the letter states. “We believe it poses not only potential detriments to the quality of life in Ormond Beach but significant threats to the safety of our residents and the unincorporated areas of Volusia County.”
City staff has been speaking with the county, the Federal Aviation Administration and its state lobbyist to seek guidance on the issue, according to the City Manager’s Weekly Update released Friday, Aug. 18.
Effective Monday, Aug. 21, front-elevated vehicles have been banned from Volusia County beaches.
The ban, approved during the County Council meeting on Aug. 15, was requested by Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood as a safety measure, according to a press release.
“The modification will ensure beach drivers have an unobstructed view while driving on the county’s beach,” the press release states. “Motor vehicles that exhibit suspension, frame or chassis adjustments resulting in a front fender height alteration exceeding four inches compared to the rear fender height will not be permitted.”
The county defines“fender” as “the contoured component installed over a vehicle’s road wheels, designed to curtail the dispersion of mud, water or similar substances,” the press release states.
The Ormond Beach Police Department welcomed 32 officers from neighboring agencies on Aug. 10 to help with traffic enforcement, according to the City Manager’s Weekly Update released Friday, Aug. 18.
“Operation 10-50” was created in response to numerous crashes and speed complaints citywide. The initiative, which ran from 2-8 p.m., resulted in:
