Plans continue for new Flagler Beach pier, beach renourishment and A1A resurfacing
Flagler Beach will be busy next year with major plans for new sand on its beaches, new paving on A1A, a new seawall in the south and the most anticipated project: a new pier.
Those were the topics during a community meeting Wednesday night in the beachside town's Santa Maria Del Mar Catholic Church where various officials spoke.
After introductions, Gabriel Perdomo, a project manager from Moffatt and Nichol, which is working on the $18 million project to replace the storm-battered wooden pier with a new, sturdier pier supported by concrete pilings, addressed the audience. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide much of the project's funding.
As was discussed during the first public meeting in January, Perdomo said the new pier would replace the outer 700 feet of the former wooden pier, which has been closed since damage from last year’s hurricane season.
Flagler Beach Pier update
The first 100 feet of the existing wooden pier would be preserved and reinforced for historical purposes with a gradual slope added to connect to the new higher pier.
The A-frame along A1A will remain and the goal is to minimize impacts during construction on surrounding businesses and also keep the Funky Pelican restaurant open, Perdomo said.
He said planners want to keep the parking in front of the Funky Pelican open but that there will be a 400-foot stretch south of that which will be closed to stage a construction trailer and receive material for the pier.
He said he expects design work on the pier to be completed in January.
Perdomo said the plan is to put the project out to bid in February and have the new pier open in February 2026.
The new pier will be taller and have break-away timber panels to minimize the impact of large waves, which are becoming more frequent, he said.
“The storms are getting stronger, Perdomo said.
The new pier will also be wider, going from the current 20 feet to 25 feet. Those 5 feet will be added on the south side of the pier.
He said designers are looking to add more shade structures based on suggestions from the public. He showed pictures of one proposal of wing-shaped shade structures which he said were designed to look like pelicans in flight.
The public also suggested seating and fish-cleaning stations.
The pier will have electrical outlets to plug in phones or holiday decorations, and the lighting along the pier will be "turtle safe," he said.
Perdomo also said existing wooden planks would be preserved and turned over to the city. The planks, which feature inscriptions, will be returned to the people responsible for the inscriptions or reused in a fitting way, Perdomo said.
He said there had been some comments about using the pier for other activities or providing music or selling food. He encouraged residents to decide how they want to use the pier.
Renovating the A-frame and expanding the restrooms were also suggested, but he said those were outside the scope of the project and something residents should ask the city about.
Beach renourishment slated for Flagler Beach
Jason Harrah, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, also spoke at Wednesday's meeting. The beach renourishment project will pump 1.3 million cubic yards of sand onto the beach from Seventh Street South to 28th Street South.
He said the flat area of the beach where people can place their towels will be 140 feet wide. The dunes will be 19 feet high and even with A1A.
Signage will tell people to stay off the dunes to protect the them and the local vegetation.
The original project in 2014 planned for 330,000 cubic yards of sand, but that increased by 1 million cubic yards in the aftermath of Tropical Storms Ian and Nicole.
The new sand will be pumped from an area 11 miles offshore of Flagler Beach.
Harrah said the Army Corps anticipates returning to renourish the beach every 11 years for the 50-year life of the project. And if a hurricane washes away the sand, the corps will return sooner.
He said the project would also tie in Seventh Street South to Seventh Street North and from 28th Street South to Gamble Rogers.
Harrah said that beginning July 5, 2024, Veterans Park, the site of the city’s popular First Friday events, will be closed.
The contractor will fence it off and will use it to stage bulldozers, pipes and other equipment. The park will be closed for six months and the contractor will restore it to its original condition once the work is complete.
City Manager Dale Martin later said he would see if it was possible to open Veteran’s Park in time for Veterans Day in 2024 and the holidays.
Harrah said legions of dump trucks will be needed to bring in the 10,000 cubic yards of sand required for ramps at certain spots to get equipment down to the beach. And sections of A1A will be closed and traffic detoured during some of the work.
Once they are done with the beach renourishment in the area around State Road 100, the contractor will move to South Sixth Street and build another sand ramp there. Once finished with that section, the contractor will move south to the Pebble Beach HOA, which is just south of Snack Jacks, and build still another sand ramp to reach the beach.
Meanwhile crews on the dredge will be bringing sand to the beach for the workers and the dozers. The sand will reach the beach via a pipe.
The contractor will be done with the areas north and south of the pier in October 2024.
The contractor must be done with the project by March 15, 2025, or it will be required to pay damages of about $60,000 per day.
Harrah warned there would be temporary closures of the beach as crews and dozers work. There will also be noise since the work will go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he said.
Flagler County's share of the cost is about $9.5 million from the Florida Department of Transportation for the main project while the federal government will pay $18 million, according to figures provided by the county and the Army Corps.
Flagler County would fund $4.1 million of the extensions north and south funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. The federal government will not provide funding for the extensions.
Improving State Road A1A in Flagler Beach
Another speaker was Florida Department of Transportation Project Manager Joseph Fontanelli, who reviewed plans to resurface State Road A1A from South Eighth Street to North 18th Street starting in 2025. The project includes making safety improvements as well.
The design work is expected to cost $1 million and construction is funded at $2.5 million.
Flagler Beach will also get a new seawall which will run from South Central Avenue in Flagler Beach south to Highbridge Road in Volusia County.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler Beach's new pier and renourishment project on track
