TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Strong winds and heavy rains are nothing new for coastal community Franklin County. Throughout the day, Fred caused multiple Franklin County bridges to shut down.
The county will shut a bridge down if the sustained winds reach 45 miles per hour or faster.
Another area of concern in Franklin County, Alligator Drive in Alligator Point. The road is notorious for washing out.
However, Franklin County Commissioner Bert Boldt tells ABC 27 that this will hopefully be one of the final storms to wash the road out.
On June 7th, construction began on the multi-million dollar FEMA backed project to reconstruct the road. $5.2 million from FEMA will build a new road that stretch more than 1,200 feet, boasting better re-enforcement's designed to keep the water off of the road.
This new version will use rip rap- the official name for piles of large rocks, a stainless steel sea-wall 15 feet below grade and another 7 feet above water, plus granite, and limerock to make sure the road is never an issue.
"This is meaningful for the people. That's the main thing. A good safe passage back and forth so the folks on the western side of the road are not feeling like they're isolated when we have a road impairment. This is 30 years in the making and we've spent more than $3 million dollars just trying to patch it," said Commissioner Boldt.
Many times, when the road is impassable, people on the western end of the road are unable to leave.
"Safe passage is very important. It's the most famous road in Florida. There's no road like it here. We've been taking good care of it all these years and now we get a chance to reward the people in Florida with a really good one," he said.
Anyone traveling Alligator Drive still have the rest of hurricane season to go. Construction is anticipated to finish December 7th.
