Last year the Perdido PassSeawall was closed for repairs when I was there in July. A while back I saw several posts about their plans but havent seen anything lately. Does anyone know when the project is scheduled to be complete?
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Last year the Perdido PassSeawall was closed for repairs when I was there in July. A while back I saw several posts about their plans but havent seen anything lately. Does anyone know when the project is scheduled to be complete?
I don’t know that there is a plan to start on it. I haven’t tried to fish the pass this year, but every time I pass by the pass, I don’t see any activity or progress.
I think I will just pass on passing the pass.........!
Yeah, don't hold yer breath ::)
http://cathodics.com/News/tabid/97/c...ews-Today.aspx
Fishing wall at Perdido Pass make take two years to repair - Gulf Coast News Today ???
posted on October 05, 2012 02:46
:( >:(Quote:
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Sebastian Haddaway hadn’t fished one of his favorite spots in almost seven months and made the trip from Daleville to Orange Beach to wet a hook. He still hasn’t fished his favorite spot. “I don’t really fish on this side,” he said from a perch on the north side of the pass. “The best fishing’s over there because there’s much more fish activity.” “Over there” was fenced off. The popular Perdido Pass seawall, frequented by fisherman and great blue herons alike, has been shut off for months due to erosion that has made the area unsafe. The fence runs from the north side of the bridge all the way under and around to where the railing ends. Haddaway and a friend were on the north side of the pass right where the fencing ended. “Not cool,” Haddaway said. “At all.” It’s not likely to change anytime soon. The Alabama Department of Transportation is in the preliminary planning stages for repairing the popular spot, but it likely will be almost two years before it’s complete. Right now officials estimate the cost to be between $7 million and $10 million. “We are currently working on a set of plans,” ALDOT Ninth District Pre-Construction Engineer Don Powell said. “We are about 50 percent and we are still working on exactly what we want to do out there, how we want to handle it. It’s still in the engineering phase.” The rest of the year will be spent completing those plans and Powell expects bids to be let the summer of 2013. “Typically its two months after we let a project for a contractor to get started,” Powell said. “We’ll try to let it in July or August which starts it either the first of October or first of November. We’ll try and work around the tourism as much as possible.” Actual build time is unknown at this point, but Powell believes it will take at least a year. “We’ve got to replace the entire steel seawall, put a new concrete cap on it and go from there,” Powell said. “Right now we’re trying to work out the best way to fix it and most economical. Money drives a lot of things right now. We’re just trying to figure out what exactly we can do, what’s going to be the easiest to build and most economical.” All of that is bad news for Paul Redman, manager at Go Fishin’ about a quarter mile east of the pass. “It’s shut a large portion of our business down,” Redman said. “It’s a large portion of our business. It’s like having a state pier down the road.” Another business planned for the area has scaled back its scope. Shaul Zislin, owner of the Hangout in Gulf Shores and the Surf Style beach stores, wants to put a restaurant east of the pass. The Outrigger was located there before a storm took it out. Developers hope to build "The Gulf at Alabama Point Restaurant," with a capacity of 600. Officials say it will combine casual dining and sport fishing. A strip of city property will become a boardwalk. But until the pass wall is fixed, Zislin and partners are converting shipping crates into a restaurant that will have outdoor seating. “As it is right now the existing wall is falling apart, hence the reason we’ve got it all fenced off,” Powell said. “You can see where material’s getting pulled out and sinking.” Coastal Resources Director Phillip West of Orange Beach has been hearing complaints about the closed area. “It’s so important to this community and to shore-bound fisherman,” he said. “And just people to watch the pass. They watch the boats come in. With Shaul (Zislin) doing his project there, we’d like to have that thing open, active and really have that spot back. “There’s no other place like that in the state but right there. Perdido Pass is certainly, in my mind, one of the most scenic spots in the state.” West said he is helping the state apply for National Research Damage Assessment grant administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. RESTORE Act money could also come into play. Powell says some new techniques will be used to hopefully make the new wall more durable. “The rust comes from oxidizing and with the water splashing on them, the salt water eroding them,” he said. “They will be coated. We will have something called the cathodic protection. It puts a charge on the metal and it helps dramatically reduce the amount of rust that occurs.” But the nature of the pass, Powell says, will cause wear and still require maintenance in the future. “We will be taking measures to try and insure and extend the life of the new structure as much as we can,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever stop it completely.” To see a gallery of pictures from the pass, go here: http://www.gulfcoastnewstoday.com/ga...a4bcf887a.html
"wants to put a restaurant east of the pass."
Shouldn't that say WEST of the pass?
Oh well, I had hoped it would be finished this summer when I'm down. Last time I fished there (2 years ago?) with my kids we caught blues and flounder.
2 years and 7-10 million dollars--translation: 5 years and 20 million dollars
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 don't know if it help, but it sure won't hurt ;-)Quote:
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!
One of the best flounder holes accessible to bank fisherman was about 200 ft to the left of the last fence post where the rocks met the sand on the bottom. You would lose the bejeezus out of some hooks and sinkers but it was still cheaper than paying $8 to fish the pier for a day and that may be the problem. Politicians don't see a way to gather mammon or votes from it so its not a priority.
This may a move in the right direction!
Orange Beach Hires Former Gov. Bob Riley
Quote:
"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.
I wonder how much income the bike path they are making in front of my store is going to generate? Between the trail in the park,hwy161,Marina RD and the beach hwy,there is over 30 miles of bike paths in OB. As for easy access fishing areas,not a whole hell of a lot. A lot more people come down to fish that 1000' of seawall than will come down to ride a bike path with 55mph traffic zipping by three feet away.
I am trying to identify an effective method to communicate with (Gov) Bob Riley on this matter and have found a telephone number in Montgomery for Bob Riley Associates. I have left a message for them to call me and tell me how to best present my ideas on this matter, e.g. letter or email. If I get a response I will post a followup. This area needs to be addressed.
Especially since you have to ride with the traffic! I would want to see who hit me in case I survived :pirateQuote:
Originally Posted by john g
You preach it man im with you amen
http://www.wsfa.com/story/30302798/f...cussed-tonight
At the "Future of Orange Beach" meeting tonite I hope someone calls ALDOT (and OBch) out about fixing the seawall on the west side of the Perdido Pass Bridge!
While I understand the other important issues of traffic flow on Hwy 180, etc. I hope this other long standing issue is addressed.
Politicians must take some kind of stupid drug when they get elected. Where I'm staying out here on Ft Morgan Rd there is an old decaying Governors Mansion that has not been used since the days of George Wallace. It will cost millions to bring it back to it's
former grandeur and it appears that's what the state is planning to do. In the 3 weeks I have been here there has been a flurry of activity of contractors and architects making plans to bring it back to life. IMHO it needs to be torn down and made into a parking lot for beach access. They could then take the money they were going to spend on it and invest it in the Perdido Sea Wall repairs which will generate income from fishermen.
A petition to the Orange Beach City Council to provide funding to repair the seawall, as well as to communicate citizen dismay at the lack of repair to Governor Bentley, ADCNR Commissioner Gunter Guy, ALDOT Director John Cooper, and our Baldwin County Legislative Delegation is being circulated at this time. Everyone should feel free to drop by Go Fish Bait and Tackle on the pier or Top Gun Tackle on Beach Boulevard to sign a copy if you haven't already.
Beyond this you can contact Bill Jeffries, who is circulating the petition, for more information on direct involvement in this effort. You can PM me here for his contact info, or drop by the store to get it if you like.
I know we are all frustrated about this, but complaining to one another solves nothing. It's time to take some direct action!
At some point voters have to take responsibility for putting irresponsible politicians in office. The present collection of "representatives" aren't doing the business of the people. When they ran on a platform of "smaller government", what they were saying is that the tax revenue won't come back to benefit "We, the People". How much more clearly illustrated could this be, than the State closing down Driver's License places all across the state? But they have money to put into restoring a former Governor's Mansion? Let me guess - they'll restore the building, then turn over the property to a private enterprise? See, I don't think that politicians become stupid when they take office. I think that they have no intention of serving the people who elected them and that it's corruption that characterizes them, not stupidity. I think that politicians have accurately assessed the situation and they know that citizens, including sportsmen, are so entrenched in support of a single party that the politicians have nothing to worry about. When it comes down to it, precedent has shown, citizens continue to elect representatives based on the party that they've historically self-identified with. It doesn't matter how bad things get! And they're going to get a lot worse. If there's a COMMON GOOD, Alabama politicians aren't interested. And it's not just Alabama, this is happening in some other states.
thank you, will do!Quote:
Originally Posted by GBergmann
I agree with you 100%. Yes it is us the voter who are really to blame for the governmental mess we have in this country in every state as well as Washington DC. I'm not convinced that petitions and calling our representitives accomplish much. I'm of the opinion that the only way to get politicians to act in a timely manner is to bring attention to a problem via the news media. With that said, a few hundred people gathered at the Perdido Sea Wall calling for something to be done about the problem there, would bring out the media cameras and you can be sure that when that happens the politicians will take notice and find a solution. I live an 8 an hour drive from Gulf Shores and would make the trip if such a rally could be organized.Quote:
Originally Posted by eym_sirius
This is all good, but ALDOT must have money to do the work.
And before someone says "BP Money", the funds that could be used for this type of project are at least a year away from being made available.
So yes, start pushing, start petitioning, make your voice heard, but have the realistic expectation that even if the Governor & ALDOT agreed tomorrow, then the project will have to be funded, engineered, designed and then put out for construction bids. That's 2 years before machinery starts moving.
I will continue to vote against incumbents as an effort to change the way they do business now. When everyone tells them "You got one term to show me your statesmanship", the people will be back in control. Otherwise, as a wise man once said " We will have the government we deserve".
Very true. Term limits are a solution. If we limit the President and Governor's to two terms why not the rest of them?Quote:
Originally Posted by bodebum
By the way, I went by Top Gun Tackle today and signed the petition for the Perdido Sea Wall fix.
It's like this - If you believe in term limits - Vote 'em out! That will have the same effect as term limits.Quote:
Originally Posted by bodebum
Exactly. Our political leaders, if I may use the term loosely, do not have to legislate election laws or term limits. We decide, and we determine those rules and those election outcomes. Political Party machines, any of them, want us to wear blinders, and drink their Kool-Aid. I will not do either, but many will.
my wife and I had our first date catching mangrove snapper on that sea wall one night back in 2000 and something (i'm sure she knows the year.) If it's ever repaired, we will do it again.