Gov. Rick Scott (R) on Oct. 20
directed the Florida Dept. of Transportation to expedite restoration of a 1.3-mile-long stretch of state Road A1A in Flagler Beach, Fla., that had collapsed as a result of Hurricane Matthew-induced storm surge.
PCL Civil Constructors made extensive preparations as Hurricane Matthew approached to secure the jobsite and equipment of its project to replace the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge on the coast of North Carolina. And yet, as the storm pulled away, two 140-ft-long barges were found beached, almost 30 miles away. An NCDOT engineer provides details.
Hurricane Matthew’s rampage through the Caribbean, the Bahamas and up the southeast U.S. coast tested storm and flood forecasters, utilities, contractor preparations and civil engineering works for more than 1,500 miles and, in some cases, found them wanting.
Georgia Power officials say Hurricane Matthew was the strongest storm to hit the region in a century; Duke Energy say the storm left large portions of the Carolinas more heavily damaged than projected—on a scale similar to the destruction of Hurricanes Hugo and Floyd