ORMOND-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. — Florida Department of Transportation crews have repaired a section of State Road A1A that washed away by severe weather Thursday night.

Florida Department of Transportation public information officer Cynthia Lane said the area that experienced some erosion on A1A was closed between Sunny Beach Drive and San Jose Drive in Ormond-by-the-Sea. She said it affected the shoulders primarily, and it did not damage the asphalt.

The damage resulted in temporary closures of that stretch of A1A.

“The repair crews came in right away," Lane said. "It was raining still, but they were able to fill in those washout areas which are like large holes, and they were able to get a one open by late last night."

Since the area got hit with Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022, Lane said they have experienced more than 20 washouts along State Road A1A .

“I’m not sure if anybody was driving by or anything, but to just have those big craters in the road that, I mean, it’s very dangerous,” said Lauren Ishmael, a server and bartender at Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill.

The restaurant is located right off State Road A1A, and Ishmael said every time there’s a washout, they get affected by it. 

“Obviously, S.R. A1A is our main road down here — we’re located right off of it," she said. "So, in any hurricanes or bad storms come and it washes out the road, it can really affect a lot of our businesses over here on beachside. A lot of us are family-owned businesses, so when we don’t have that traffic coming through, it can really put a big damper on our business."

After the two hurricanes Ian and Nicole, the Florida Department of Transportation partnered with Volusia County, Flagler County, the city of Flagler Beach, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, to put together a State Road A1A Resiliency Plan with a number of different projects.

As part of the project, two buried seawalls are being built in the most vulnerable areas along that corridor. One of them is 1.3 miles in the area where the washout happened Thursday night in Ormond-by-the-Sea. The other one is already under construction, located partly in Flagler Beach and partly in northern Volusia County.

“So those were the two most vulnerable areas we’ve seen a lot of washouts in these areas over the last couple of years, and we’re really excited to get started with the work on the second wall and Ormond-by-the-Sea, so that we can protect this area from having future problems like this,” Lane said.

Ishmael said she was looking forward to having the seawall in place. 

“Those two hurricanes back-to-back, that affected us pretty bad," she said. "A lot of it was washed out. And so, I think having the seawall is going to help protect a lot of it, not only the road, people’s homes, our businesses."

According to FDOT, beginning as soon as Sept. 9, the contractor will place temporary asphalt along the southbound side of State Road A1A to accommodate a slight traffic shift.

Officials say drivers should expect a rolling daytime lane closure with flagging operations from just north of Marlin Drive to just south of Sunrise Avenue.

The next steps in construction will be clearing vegetation from the dune and adding sand to create a wide platform. Drilling the piles for the wall is anticipated to begin during fall of this year.

Some dune walkovers will be temporarily removed as part of the project. Beachgoers will be able to access the beach from nearby walkovers, and the beach area in front of the walls will be open for public use. Officials said beachgoers should stay off the dunes and be mindful of construction activities.

FDOT will replace the walkovers as work on each wall section is finished. The project team will coordinate closely with the walkover owners and limit the time each walkover is closed as much as possible.

The department is adhering to state and federal regulations to protect sea turtles and other wildlife.

During sea turtle nesting season, no work can begin until an inspector who is approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission inventories the beach for any nesting activity. No work will be done within 10 feet of a nest, and all work will be done during daylight hours.