Future of Fort Pickens up to nature
National Park officials work Dec. 30 on clearing wind blown sand from Fort Pickens Road. Unexpected weather closures at the park are eating into the organization's bottom line.(Photo: Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com)
Landon Stinson, For the News Journal
Pensacola Beach, FL
Stranded campers. Flooded streets. Cannons. Jail-cells. Fort Pickens is only a few words away from being the next Blockbuster action film; one some may call: The Disappearing Road.
Fort Pickens Road provides the only access to one of Pensacola’s most treasured attractions to both visitors and locals alike, many of whom don’t understand the frequent closings on days that appear on the surface to boast clear skies and perfect temperatures.
Earlier this year, park officials failed to evacuate campers in time before a large storm made landfall –– nearly 50 people were stranded for days at Fort Pickens. The only road to escape the 181 year-old fortress was buried deep in the sand. It was a costly miscalculation.
A dangerous storm cell threatened Pensacola Beach the last Sunday of the year, and this time officials made sure campers had a way out.
James Taylor, a vacationer from the Pensacola area, was the last RV camper evacuated that Sunday night.
“They made us leave Fort Pickens Campground for safety reasons. I’ve lived in Florida many, many years and I’ve had to evacuate for hurricanes, but never for just a storm.” Taylor said.
Fort Pickens Road is built to be deliberately low –– sea level to be exact. Engineers designed the road so that sand is pushed across it during a big storm, guarding the asphalt from a looming Gulf. Without this protection mechanism, waves could wash under the blacktop, collapse it and actually destroy the road. The indigenous Ghost Crab also uses sand to protect itself during storms. There have been five road closures this year and according to Cassity Bromley, chief of science and resources stewardship at National Seashore, the increase in shutdowns is due to the receding beach in between the road and the water.
“The closures have become more frequent because the shape of the beach has changed. The islands have been getting smaller and the sand has been moving out of the system.” Bromley said.
“The amount of buffer-beach between the water and the road has gotten smaller and smaller, so it’s taken less of a weather event to put water and sand across the road and to get us to close it.”
Park officials use data on wind speed, high tide, wind direction and wave height to calculate the probability of sand coverage and flooding on the two-lane road. The officials decide if and when they will close the road using their calculations. Lately, officials have been breaking out the barriers at the first sign of danger –– heralding visitor safety as the top priority at Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Some visitors are thankful for the heightened scrutiny among the park officials, others are bewildered. Brad and Lisa Aston, visitors from Texas, were in one of the many vehicles turned away Monday evening at the entrance to Fort Pickens.
“If it’s a safety issue, then I guess it’s good that they are keeping people safe.” Brad Aston said.
Susan Rock, who recently moved to Pensacola from California, wasn’t as enthusiastic about the cautious closures.
“This is not a hurricane, I would think they would be used to a little bit of weather around here. I don’t see why it would be closed –– it’s not even raining right now.” Rock said.
Closing Fort Pickens Road costs a lot more than some customer dissatisfaction. Large machinery is required to clear the roads after a storm and could take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to accomplish. In October, it took 10 days before campers were given the “all-clear.” When the coverage is severe, an independent contractor is paid to bring in their equipment to help clear the roads. According to Superintendent Dan Brown, $25,000 is the typical yearly budget for sand removal.
“When we do get hit by a major storm event that deposits 6 to 8 feet of sand on the Fort Pickens Road, we request contingency funding from our regional office. We have spent as much as $75,000 in a single year for sand removal.” said Brown.
On some occasions, additional staff is called in to help shoulder the burden of sand removal –– adding further to the costs. These expenses compile upon forgone collections during the park’s closure and refunds awarded to the evacuated campers.
“They’ll give us refunds per-day, they’ve been very good about that.” said James Taylor.
Gulf Islands National Seashore is trying to make Fort Pickens Road more efficient and stop the frequent closures. A plan has just been approved to realign the 1.5-mile section of the road most vulnerable to sand coverage and flooding. The realignment project will cost an estimated $2.4 million and is expected to reduce road closures for routine weather events. That comes on top of the $24 million that has been spent on repairing and rebuilding the road since 2004.
Officials believe the road realignment is a step in the right direction, north to be exact, in fixing The Disappearing Road. With a shortage of surface area and wildlife to protect, the road closure issue at Fort Pickens may boil down to be just like the Ghost Crab –– left up to nature.
“We’ll be moving a section of the road inland, well, as much as we can. There’s a limited amount of space to choose from. It’s a barrier island; it’s narrow and it’s getting narrower.” Bromley said.