Alligator Drive: Road, Revetment and Wall Work Reaches Substantial Completion

Alligator Drive located on Alligator Point, Franklin County, FL has been subject to numerous storm related wash outs over the past two decades. The road and seaward fronting revetment were completely destroyed and rebuilt multiple times in the aftermath of several historic storms. After Hurricane Hermine in 2016, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided Franklin County with a public assistance grant to rebuild the road and to make it more resilient to future storms. MRD was contracted through Dewberry Engineering by Franklin County to provide CEI, permitting and coastal engineering services to create a coastal armoring design which would protect Alligator Drive from future storms, as it serves as the primary access and exit for residents to Alligator Point. MRD developed a novel design which included a dual walled system to prevent scour from both incoming and outgoing storm surge related flows as well as enhancing the seaward fronting revetment allowing it to protect the road from the impacts up to a 50-year storm event. Substantial completion was recently achieved with the road set to fully reopen sometime in the latter part of 2022. The upgraded improvements should significantly increase the roads survivability and increase its resiliency from the damaging effects of high frequency storm events.