ORMOND-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — Washouts along one major roadway in Volusia County are a topic of concern as parts of the county saw constant rain throughout the day.

State Road A1A, which is always a focal point after rainy weather and storms, was severely damaged when hurricane Ian struck a year ago.

During storms this past week, parts of the road were washed out, forcing emergency crews to close it through Wednesday morning.

Leaders at the Florida Department of Transportation say they are looking at ways to find permanent solutions to the erosion issue along A1A. But with the recent storms and heavy rains this week, FDOT’s communications manager Matthew Richardson said the department had to quickly respond to five washouts and make repairs. 

“The short-term repair is to fill in the areas, the shoulder area with dirt," he said. "What happened is that from all the water that comes in, from the rain, it tends to wash that that dirt away."

Richardson said FDOT is working on the long-term solution, called the Resiliency Project, that includes construction of two buried seawalls along State Road A1A.

The first seawall will extend 1.28 miles between Marlin Drive and Sunrise Avenue. And the second will be 1.3 miles between High Bridge Road and Ocean Palm Drive.

“The plans for the permanent fix for State Road A1A between Flagler and Volusia counties is to make the road more resilient to any water or any storms that may happen in the area," Richardson said. "So that is certainly our plan to make sure that those roadways are safe for travelers."

FDOT officials say the buried seawalls project is still in the design and planning stages. Construction is set to begin in late 2023 and early 2024.