Red, White & Roux

So, now I am hearing that the columns are ruffling a few feathers. That was never my point (well, to be honest sometimes it was). I merely observe, research, and take a stand. This is quite simply one woman's opinion.
You may agree, disagree, or just start talking about the topics I address. That has always been my goal. I want everyone to see that it is honorable and responsible to speak out. Good people with a stake in our community should not look away, shrug their shoulders, and feel powerless. We have a duty to address what is wrong and work for positive change. I'm not afraid of people being irritated with me. I'm afraid that the same old bad decisions will become a way of life.
I get the criticisms through rumor. The kudos come in person from school personnel who pass the paper around on Thursdays. "Did you read what she wrote?" There are people who recognize me on the street and say, "Thank you, someone needs to write about what is really going on." I even get evening telephone calls from folks who are fed up and feel they can vent to me.
I don't think I'm always a "nattering nabob of negativism" (remember Spiro Agnew's famous epithet for the media?). This week it's all about my admiration for the Florida Department of Transportation.
Everyone who makes that dangerous commute from west to east or east to west on Highway 98 has encountered three to four stops along the way, seven days a week. At first I was irritated, then interested, and now, admiring. I truly believe that those hard-working guys and gals might finally be making that stretch of highway storm-proof.
Many of us remember taking detours through Tate's Hell when the coastal road looked like a sea monster had bitten giant chunks out of the coastline. Well, DOT is spending close to $35 million to try and make sure it doesn't happen again.
My college roommate worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, and she explained the superiority of rip-rap (a slanting slope of rocks) over those perpendicular sea walls. It seems that water damage is lessened if the water trickles down through the stones rather than slamming against a barrier of concrete. The force of the water eventually undermines the walls.
After daily watching the massive construction effort on Highway 98, and the dazzling array of steps underway, I just had to know more. Tommie Speights, the public information guy at DOT, came through with some enlightening emails. I knew him from my days at Oyster Radio, and a series of emails last year when I wanted DOT to stop mowing until I could pick the dewberries from the roadside vines. He is responsive and knowledgeable. State dollars well spent.
He wrote that this project is coming in just under $35 million. The contractor is Phoenix Construction Services of Lynn Haven and that PBS&J is serving as the consultant for construction engineering and inspection. If you want pictures and explanations you can go to ftp://pbsj:pbsj@ftp.pbsj.com/temp/us98FranklinCounty-T3249.
I did just that and I can tell you that I think severe road damage from hurricanes is a thing of the past. First, they excavate before placing filter fabric and an 18-inch thick layer of loose bedding stone. On top of the stone go sheets of articulating concrete block. Then larger stones called "rip rap on toe" are placed seaward on the concrete block as an anchor. Next, backfill (looks like dirt to me) is placed on the uncovered block.
That brings us to the pilings. There are installing these metal piling casings, followed by pre-stressed concrete pilings. At completion, these are supposed to be driven to grade, which means the view of the water won't be compromised. Bulkhead panels go in behind the concrete pilings and then there is backfill and more rip rap.
I hope you haven't been bored by all this. I am totally intrigued. Millions of tax dollars are at work in Franklin County to keep a scenic highway functional. These people are working seven days a week for a project set to take 750 days. It began on July 30, 2007, You do the math
I start my drive to Carrabelle at 7:30. There is a spot where the sun obliterates the vision and I pity the person waving the flag, One day I was motioned forward and then stopped by another worker. The huge crane was backing into my lane. I'm glad I had my coffee that morning. One has to be alert to make that drive without an accident.
Speaking of DOT, what's up with Prado and Highway 98? For my whole life it has been a "Y" intersection. Bear left to Port St. Joe, bear right to the residential area. It's been a problem for years. I still have a scar on my right thigh when I encountered a speeding car and my bicycle and I had nowhere to go.
It seems that we now have an Apalachicola Area Traffic Safety Committee. Thanks go to chair Bob Dieter, Kerry Feder, Pat Wilson, Steve Freger, Dixie Partington. Diane Dieter, Betty Webb, and Dan Garlick. They meet every third Wednesday at the Community Center in Apalachicola at 5 p.m. A representative from FDOT also attends.
Bob Dieter told me that the redesign of the Prado/98 intersection was five years in the making. FDOT recognized that drivers coming off Highway 98 were accelerating as they moved onto the residential Prado neighborhood. In addition, if you were heading east, there was no viable left turn. For a mere $185,000, plus design fees to Baskerville-Donovan engineers, we now have a safe intersection.
Dieter would like to expand the committee to involve the entire county. More state dollars would be available. Get involved. Speak out. Sometimes a single voice can make a difference.