Thread: Perdio Pass seawall...

Speaking of Perdido Pass ,has there been any progress in repairing the area along the sea wall . ?What about the restaurant? Has it opened for business ?

The resturaunt is open...
Orange Beach, AL Weather Cameras - WeatherBug.com

The parking lot is not :-(

I have at times had a lot of fun right where that fence ends at the wall. But this picture looks about like it did In October of 2012 when I was down.
At that time I talked with a couple of state employees doing survey activity but they had no idea of a timetable for action.
The Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism bureaus are missing the boat by not pushing for action here. When it is accessible you can see a lot of out of state car tags any time you stop by. It was one of the FREE easy access points and the tourists loved it.

... and that may well be part of the underlying foot dragging issue.
NObody is making money off of it

I talked with some State workers 7/2 and they were getting ready to pour some more asphalt to fix some of the holes for the 4th(?????). The worker did not have any idea when they were going to really fix the problem and was a little upset that the powers that be were just putting a Band-Aid on instead of fixing the problem.

Looking at the area a couple of weeks ago, it will take a complete rework of the base structure to make it safe. When you run out the pass you can see just what water moving fast can do. The whole underside of the bulkhead is gone in places. I will be running out of the pass next week and try to get some pics from the water of just what they are up against.

The needed repairs are going to cost BIG bucks.
And that is something that is not falling from trees these days, at the state or federal level.
Some here have raised the possibility of using "oil-spill" money, that might be a solution but the money that could be used wont start to flow within the year.

One thing that MIGHT help is to submit a public comment
(TODAY is the last day!)
Phase III of Early Restoration : NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration

Here's the comment I submitted...

I have seen a lot of money earmarked for projects which have nothing to do with the coastal impact from the oil spill. One of the areas directly affected was Perdido Pass in Orange Beach, Alabama. In fact the seawall and west jetty were the center of a LOT of heavy equipment activity during that period. The seawall west of the bridge was a public parking and fishing area which was the ONLY deep water wheelchair accessible 'drive and fish' site on the Alabama coast. Since 2010 the seawall (weakened by tropical storms and possibly heavy equipment) deteriorated from erosion to the point that the parking lot was undermined and consequently fenced off pending repairs. The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) claims they do not have sufficient funding to repair the seawall for years, so now even the Perdido Pass Bridge may be in jeopardy.


It would seem to serve justice (as well as the public which was denied the use of these fishing waters and facilities for several months after the spill) to set aside some of this money to repair the seawall and restore public access to the site as it was prior to 2010.


Thank you for your consideration!

I don't know if it help, but it sure won't hurt ;-)

This may a move in the right direction!
Orange Beach Hires Former Gov. Bob Riley

"He can make a difference helping us secure some of those dollars that we need," says Kennon.

Those issues include: Traffic congestion on the three state roads that move people in and around the city, replacing the seawall at Alabama Point, a multi-million dollar project and the long talked about Wolf Bay Bridge, another way on and off the island.