Alligator Drive Seawall and Revetment Under Construction
In 2018, Franklin County was awarded federal funding under the disaster declaration for Hurricane Hermine to repair approximately 1,000 linear feet of Alligator Drive, a two-lane asphalt road. While waiting for the necessary regulatory permits to be issued, Hurricane Michael impacted Alligator Drive before the county was able to start construction, leaving the road further damaged. Hurricane Michael’s approximately 9 to 11-foot tidal surge displaced rip rap and Jersey barriers along the coastline causing approximately an additional 160 linear feet of Alligator Drive to wash away damaging the Peninsula's water line.
Franklin County, Florida was designated as a county eligible to receive federal assistance from FEMA. Franklin County was awarded a grant through the Public Assistance (PA) Program to receive funding to repair the damaged portions of Alligator Drive back to pre-disaster condition as well as implement hazard mitigation protection measures which includes the elevation of the road, installation of a vertical steel seawall, and a stormwater treatment system.
The proposed project consists of enhancing a 1,160-foot section of Alligator Drive. Improvements to the road include adding additional base material to elevate the road structure, and installing 6-foot concrete shoulders on each side of the road right-of-way, vinyl sheet piles to a depth of approximately 10 feet on the landward side of the road, a 9-foot concrete sloped pavement splash pad along the coastal edge of the road, a concrete class II bulkhead, and steel sheet piles to a depth of approximately 15 feet between the road structure and the rip rap along the coastline. Additionally, the existing revetment will be removed and replaced with granite stone capable of withstanding the effects from a 50-year storm event.
Construction on the project began mid-year of 2021 and the video highlights the beginning of construction on the project and the installation of the steel sheetpile wall at the east end of the project.
