MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — It’s one of the crown jewels on the Treasure Coast, and now, the road leading to Bathtub Beach in Stuart is better prepared for strong storms and flooding.
Martin county has reopened MacArthur Boulevard after spending five months raising the road.
Ashley Thomas lives a half mile from Bathtub Beach and told WPTV that Mother Nature continues to leaves its mark on the roadway.
"We have crazy just erosion and waves going over the road,” said Thomas. “ I think two years ago, we had a small storm, and we had sharks across the street.”
But Martin County is fixing the issues.
Wes Shaeffer is leading the Martin County Resilience Projects as the superintendent.
The projects aim is to help stabilize the shoreline and minimize flooding by elevating the road.
This 1,000-foot stretch of road originally sat just 2.5 feet above water level, not meeting the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s minimum elevation guidelines.
It’s now over 5 feet above the water.
“The water would cross over the road and make it impassable without pumping and dewatering and whatnot,” said Shaeffer. “This eliminates all that.”
The road is back open and Shaeffer told WPTV it was important to do it quickly.
“It’s incredibly popular among residents and the whole community of Stuart,” said Shaeffer.
Shaeffer expects more resiliency projects like this in the future
“With climate change,” said Shaeffer. “It's inevitable.”
For Thomas, flooding is a concern outside her home and she’s hoping the work keeps going.
“We're going to need something, because once this island's gone, then Sewall's Point becomes the next barrier islands, and that's what's next,” said Thomas.
Crews are still out here working on the parking lot for Bathtub Beach.
Shaeffer said they’re on schedule and it should be completed by the start of the new year.
