To hear Flagler Beach City Manager Larry Newsom describe it, the wreckage of two brand new dune walkovers at North 21st and North 22nd Street could have been avoided but for the Florida Department of Transportation’s poor work. The walkovers were either wrecked or made unusable Friday and Saturday, and will have to be rebuilt, following the Nor’easter type weather.
“I don’t want the people to think that this is a faux-pas from Flagler Beach, because it’s not,” Newsom said Saturday, just as he was receiving reports of the wrecked walkovers. “We didn’t handle this project, and I don’t think it was handled correctly.”
The work was part of the transportation department’s various $22.4 million projects along State Road A1A, including the buried seawall at the north end of town–which is no longer buried–and the reconstruction of a 1.5-mile segment of A1A at the south end of town. Superior Construction did the work, including the reconstruction of the walkovers, under the eye of Adkins Engineering.
“This is not a project that the city managed,” Newsom said, insistent on putting distance between the project and the city or its commission. “I am disappointed, very disappointed in how the project was handled.” He said the new walkovers failed even though much older walkovers weathered storm after storm. The difference, in his assessment, is a matter of construction, including the use of square posts instead of round posts.
The walkovers are of course closed until further notice.
“They’re going to be fixed, but now Flagler Beach is going to control how they’re going to be fixed, at no cost to the taxpayers, I can promise you that,” the city manager said. “I can’t tell you who’s going to pay for it, but I can tell you who’s not going to pay for it.”
The city is itself preparing to bid out a contract to rebuild a number of walkovers.
City Commissioner Rick Belhumeur had taken a long walk along the area of the damaged, surveying it Saturday afternoon. “These walkovers are on FDOT but we just awarded a bid to build many more in which the city will be responsible for the results. You can expect a discussion on that at our meeting on Thursday,” Belhumeur said. When told of Newsom’s insistence that the city’s work will not be as wanting as DOT’s, Belhumeur said: “He’ll have to convince me of that. We still have walkovers in place that have lasted decades, that are destined to be torn out and replaced with new ones. The engineering and installation have to be as sound as the originals. From what I’ve seen, that’s not the case.” He said the engineering should not attempt to “reinvent the wheel.”
Newsom said the “the ones the city has gone out to bid for will not be built the same way.”
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Flagler Beach Resident says
Didn’t the city’s engineering dept. at least inspect them?????
really says
Next is the Pier, then the road, then more cross overs, give up the ghost Mother Nature wins
Korean vet says
Hi really .you are right look at the loss of sand around the overpasses that area is going South . You can’t stop nature . A1A will go again in next major storm .the only thing that will help are jetties perpendicular to A1A. I experienced this In West Hampton beach from 19 58 to 1986.nothing else helped . Good luck city Manager .
Sand Flea says
OMG, if this happened during a 2 day Nor-easter, can you imagine what the next hurricane will do ?
MONEY NOT WELL SPENT ! And didn’t anyone tell the construction company, you can’t put square peg in a round hole ?
CB from PC says
Florida DOT…same bunch managing the contractors putting those fine roundabouts on Route 1.
Yes, saw the seawall today, what a cluster…A Nor ‘easter was too much wind driven storm surge.
These projects have way too many hands taking a cut of the money along the way.
Is there some reason Flagler Beach could not use their own Civil Engineers to design these walkovers, seawall etc?
Finally, Someone at the local level HAD TO SIGN OFF ON ALL THIS.
Enjoy the new A1A section while you can.
Outsider says
It looks to me like all that millions of dollars worth of sand is now somewhere out in the middle of the Gulf Stream. Who could have predicted that? Stupid is as stupid does.
Beachgoer says
The entire DOT project on A1A should have had more local supervision from the city and county. The DOT botched the whole job; north and south. The islands on the south section are too wide. They used the wrong sand on the north section. They totally screwed up the installation of the dune crossovers. The crossovers need to be ripped out and totally done over. Rework the islands to a more narrow width. Get the right kind of sand for the dunes on the north end. Bring in the head of the DOT and demand that heads roll for the mess they caused.
Jimbo99 says
Amazing, the evidence is erosion of whatever was restored from the last hurricane. There isn’t anything to fortify the sand and even if there was, it wouldn’t withstand that much water intrusion. This elected one isn’t very bright. See there are floods everywhere, it results in erosion. That’s what happened with the hurricanes, it’s what happens when the Mississippi rises and erodes a river bank with it’s massive flow. Rains will cause mudslides, it’s what water does.
True story, Nassau county, there was a community dock in a marsh community when I lived there. The Hurricane of 2016 hit the area and wiped out the community dock. The community spent the 9 months of 12 deciding to rebuild the dock. They had 3 choices. The cheapest rebuild the dock as the developer had. The 2nd cheapest, raise it and fortify it to withstand a lower level hurricane category 1. Their 3rd option, build a cat 5/6 level dock. Oh, option 4 was to remove the debris and eliminate the dock entirely. After heated debates, those that has the properties next to the dock, those were like free dockage they would never pay for. Everyone else was on the “dock” for replacing the dock as option 1, maybe option 2, but nobody wanted the cost of option 3. And certainly everyone agreed that option 4 was real, but nobody wanted to accept a dock-less community. So Option 1 won the HOA vote. The last 3months they repaired it, just in time for 2017’s hurricane to damage to where it needed repairs. End of the day, the dock ribbon cutting happened 2 weeks before the 2017 hurricane required additional repairs to the newly repaired dock.
Analogy, that’s what we have here, an elected official in denial that the walk overs are never going to be hurricane proof. Even Jax Beach’s pier needed repairs after the 2016/2017 hurricanes. That pier was supposed to be superior to cat 6 and the one’s that got it were maybe cat 2 or 3 at worst ? Nope, this man is a fool of the highest order with his denial. He won’t pay for it, he’ll swear up & down the DOT should be billed. We’re in trouble with this kind of leadership that lacks common sense. Fed government/State government/Trump/FEMA is not going to rebuild this. Wasn’t declared a disaster area.
This is about 1 thing really, those who can’t accept the Atlantic Ocean destroying A1A so that driving from St Augustine to Ponce Inlet, FL isn’t possible. And what makes it hard to acknowledge. The wealthier have property there, the road gets wiped out first in certain sections and that community has it’s livelihood right there at the pier and immediately north & south of it as small as it is. So they have to fix it so those folks don’t lose their livelihoods. Something has to give, South Daytona Ave is your new A1A. Accept that fact and let it go, All of FL at certain points is experiencing this, it’s going to happen. God’s will.
Deb says
That’s what happens when you reward them to rush a project. Js
Name (required) says
Lol, silly humans. You have no idea what you’re doing. On any level.. federal, state, county, city or otherwise. It’s just a false hope from transient dreamers that ya get to live the “beach life.” Guess what??!? There is no beach anymore. Anywhere. The “dog days” are over. You can roll around smugly with your freshly applied “salt life” stickers and build your ivory towers in swamps, and on eroding beaches all you want, but it won’t change the fact that people just cant come to terms with their changing world. Wake up and stop dreaming. Think bigger. Think better, hell… just think. Sad that as a kid I looked up to and trusted the people in charge to know what they’re doing, as I’ve aged, I’ve realized that nobody knows what they hell they’re doing. Honestly, the powers that be, filled with self interest just blindly run into whatever they envision as a righteous endeavor. People could be much more evolved and involved than they are now, but they refuse. This lil 2 day “Nor-Easter” is a fine example of the total lack of preparation for a much, MUCH bigger problem at hand.
Chris S says
I was in FB in December when the last 2-3 walkovers were being built. To Mother Nature the ‘rocks” that the walkover legs are resting on are really pebbles. The posts for the walkovers should have been drilled in and set at least in some 18” concrete piers.
Then, the rocks that were brought in during the reconstruction, placed around the piers to break-up some of the wave actions.
I noticed a few screws in decking and then a lot of nails; ok if you’re building a back yard deck. For blocks, the dunes and vegetation was destroyed by the contractor; knee high trenches caused by trucks and trailers were photographed. As others have commented, the white sand “back fill” is adding feet of beach sand on the properties across A1A destroying grass and vegetation. Covering the sea wall in this sand that doesn’t clump or adhere to anything was a waste of money. All we’re missing for now isgraffiti on the sea wall, and those people visiting or moving from NY to feel right at home.
Flatsflyer says
Shoveling shit against the tide. Give it up and stop wasting money nobody has.
attila says
Is there any fall back, warranties or paybacks from the contractors? It took a very long time to do. When driving through the area for a long time I was lucky to see 3 or 4 workers and they were leaning on their shovels.
Willy Boy says
Now about that seawall.
Steve Vanne says
Shocker…
Trailer Bob says
If it is believed that the round . posts were stronger than the square ones, and this is one of the reasons for the failure, why did no one inspect and advise on that issue during construction? I am starting for feel that there a lot of people working for the city that are not doing their job as well. Hell, it’s only taxpayer money…I guess.
Wow says
I’m curious who did the design. I’m assuming there was a design and the contractor built to spec. Have you ever in your life seen a pier with square posts??
vet says
are these the same guys that did the “mold ops”
Maxi says
“They’re going to be fixed, but now Flagler Beach is going to control how they are going to be fixed, at no cost to the taxpayers, I can promise you that” the city manager said. “I can’t tell you who’s going to pay for it, but I can tell you who’s not gonna pay for it.”
Of course tax payers are going to paying for it!! It all comes from tax payer money unless it was privately funded, which it wasn’t. Tax payers will pay again and again until we all stand up and demand better.
Chris S. says
Now, I’m totally confused.!
The city manager says “not ours” but I have a Facebook correspondence from Dec 2019 with the Flagler Beach PD stating the 3 walkovers were city owned.
Now someone needs to stand-up and take responsibility. Let’s get them redone before the next hurricane or warm weather blow.
Downtown says
And who didn’t see this coming? Citizens spoke but once again they were ignored. You cannot beat Mother Nature but instead of working with her you think your so damn smart that you can stand up to her and defeat her. Wrong again Einstein. Now back to the drawing board to figure how you can suck up more tax dollars fixing what you were supposed to have fixed before Mother Nature showed you who was boss, again.
Doug says
“This is not a project that the city managed,” Newsom said, insistent on putting distance between the project and the city or its commission. “I am disappointed, very disappointed in how the project was handled.”
Disappointed? How about you and the rest of the commissioners are a “disappointment” to the taxpayers of Flagler Beach for not taking a position of overseeing this project? Stop being a typical politicians and passing blame. The blame starts with the city for not taking responsibility for the contractors the city hired.
Chris S says
Funny, how the Flagler PD posts pictures of tourists taking pictures and stepping on a plant and they wreak comments on FB.
As far as the city commissioners, inspectors, “IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING! You have a duty that if you possess expertise and knowledge to direct it to the proper entities; like the “engineer” that specified the construction of walkovers.
I also don’t want to open-up a can of worms; here is why:
Quite a few of the properties on east side of A1A are private properties, with their own parcel numbers, taxes and assessments. How come all these improvements are not charged to those “properties”?. A lot of owners own these split properties (before A1A) and benefit from these upgrades done at taxpayer expense. You’ve noticed the “private” walkovers?! The balance of these “properties” are owned by Flagler Beach. The owners make a point in their sales info to indicate that they own littoral rights. On the other hand Hammock Dunes are incurring these repair costs with some heavy assessments.
FB United says
They were to focused on the swale project to notice anything wrong with the way they were built. Vote them ALL out.