Fort Pickens Road - Possible new route

Since I have commented to the National Park Service, I get their newsletters.  Here is a snippet from the one I got today.  It involves several road proposals.  Although I believe the relocation of the road to the North is a good one, the misanthropic US Fish & Wildlife will probably criticize that proposal and, in essence, issue a de facto veto.  (They have killed earlier Ft. Pickens road proposals.)


The "Do-nothing" Alternative was mentioned and is essentially the status-quo... closures at every storm high tide for sand removal, closures of campground, etc.

Quote :

Preliminary Draft Alternative

NPS would realign a 1.67 mile portion of the Fort Pickens Road. The
roadway would be moved north of the Gulf of Mexico into the more
inland and higher areas of the island. Construction of the roadway
would include compacting the sand and overlaying pavement on the
compacted sand. The realignment would follow the natural topography
of the area, with minimal dune cuts as needed. The existing roadway
would be demolished and removed following the construction of
the new roadway. Once removed, the roadway area would be left to
re-establish as a natural dune community. Visitors would continue to
have access to the Fort Pickens area via the existing road during the
construction period. In addition to the road realignment, parking lot
22 would also be reconfigured to be located near the new roadway, but
would utilize portions of the existing roadway to minimize disturbance.

An asphalt overlay would take place on the remaining portion of Fort
Pickens Road within the NPS boundary (5 miles) and within parking
lots 21 and 22. The cyclic asphalt overlay would add approximately two
to three inches of asphalt over the existing five mile roadway and parking
lots. No disturbance to the adjacent area is expected from this action.

The project would also include a reconfiguration of the NPS entrance
station on Fort Pickens Road. An additional lane would be added to the
entrance area to allow simultaneous processing of two visitor entrance
lanes. Construction of the entrance lane would be similar to the road
realignment.

At this time, the Superintendent is announcing a 30-day public scoping
period to solicit comments on the proposed roadway improvements.
During this period, the public is invited to identify issues or concerns
they might have with the proposed project so that the NPS can
appropriately consider them in the Environmental Assessment. You
may submit your comments electronically at the NPS’s Planning,
Environment, and Public Comment website (https://parkplanning.
nps.gov/GUIS). If you are unable to access this website, please submit
written comments to:

Superintendent
Subject: Fort Pickens Road Realignment
Gulf Islands National Seashore
3500 Park Road
Ocean Springs, MS 39564

Faxed comments, emails, and telephone messages will not be accepted.
Please submit comments by April 28, 2014. Once the Environmental
Assessment is developed, it will be made available for public review
for a 30-day period. If you wish to be added to the park’s mailing list,
please be sure to indicate that in your response.

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Eric's comment: It appears that the 30-day comment window has not opened. The Fort Pickens Road project is not listed in the "Current Projects" list. Perhaps it will be available on the 28th.