Message Boards Tout Pending Wickham Road Closure Begins February 22

between Aurora Road, Eau Gallie Boulevard

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Variable message boards were installed along Wickham Road on Wednesday to alert motorists to the pending six-week closure of Wickham Road, between Aurora Road and Eau Gallie Boulevard, beginning Feb. 22.

Motorists who use that route will face detours beginning at 10 p.m. Feb. 22 through April 2 due to a nearly $800,000 project to install a drainage culvert and other upgrades as part of a stormwater improvements project.

Also on Wednesday, Brevard County established a Facebook page devoted exclusively for providing project details and updates, as well as answers to questions posed by the public.

The project is part of ongoing drainage work in the area to protect flood-prone homes, especially those in the Kingsmill and Longwood subdivisions, and other homes and businesses along the Palomino Road and Aurora Road area. The area suffered major flooding as recently as Tropical Storm Fay in 2008, Hurricane Erin and other major storm events.

Included are five separate drainage improvement upgrades, the largest involving installation of a concrete box culvert under Wickham Road just south of Aurora Road and adjacent to two existing box culverts. To minimize frustration on those who travel in that area, the project has been planned in similar fashion to an emergency culvert replacement on Palm Bay Road, a project that was completed four weeks ahead of schedule.

The project is grant funded, and estimated to cost between $723,500 to $800,000. Utilities, including a lift station, overhead power lines and water and gas mains, pose one of the biggest obstacles of the project.

While there are currently two 8-foot by 5-foot box culverts under Wickham Road at the Eau Gallie River, the project will construct an additional 110-foot long 8-foot-by-5-foot culvert under Wickham Road to increase the capacity of the drainage system, thus reducing frequency and duration of flooding events.

Despite planned detours, variable message boards and other signage will direct traffic to businesses in the area under construction. The projected time of road closure for Wickham Road is 40 days. Work will be performed 12 hours per day; 6 days per week. Scheduling depends on weather and material deliveries.

Motorists who use the area for work, shopping or getting to and from their homes are encouraged to plan now for alternative routes that will help them avoid the construction area.

The detour route for northbound traffic is east along Eau Gallie Boulevard to Croton Road, then north to Aurora Road back west to Wickham. The reverse route will be established for southbound traffic.

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