GRAYTON BEACH, Fla. () — An causing financial hardship for 30A businesses.
Walton County is spending $1.1 million of federal grant funds to fully replace the Deer Lake Bridge connecting Seagrove to Sea Crest.
The county closed the bridge on October 30 for the 180-day project. Deer Lake is the last of a ten-year project to replace all 5 of the culvert bridges along 30A.
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Businesses to the West are reporting a 60 percent or greater decrease in revenue because the road is fully closed.
Owners told Walton Commissioners on December 19 that they want at least one lane open for customer traffic.
The county said this project would cost nearly $12 million if they left one lane open and worked during the night hours, in comparison to the current $ 1.1 million price tag.
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“If we had unlimited resources, that’s what we’d prefer to do. You know, DOT(Department of Transportation) is going to start work on the Western Lake Bridge, they are going to be starting on that soon and they are going to be able to keep traffic moving on that bridge. That bridge is a $ 14 million, $ 13 million project. We don’t have those resources throughout this 10-year work program,” Buddy Wright, Public Works Director said.
The business owners spoke with Wright after the commissioner meeting on Tuesday. Public Works said they have confidence the bridge will reopen by March 1.
The business owners plan to set up a meeting with commissioners and the public works department to consider any options to relieve their financial stress.
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