DOTHAN, Ala. – A popular Alabama beach is reopening after a seven-month closure due to Hurricanes Sally and Zeta last year.
Dauphin Island’s West End Beach, closed since Hurricane Sally on September 17, will reopen Saturday to the public and will feature an expanded parking lot, food vendors, kayak and canoe rentals, among other features.
“We’re just excited to get these things up and running again and give people a place to chill out and soak up the sun,” said Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said.
The beach reopening comes after approximately 150,000 cubic yards of sand, washed ashore by the two hurricanes, was slowly removed from roadways and the beach’s parking lot. The beach clean up cost around $250,000 to $300,000, Collier said, though a final estimate has not yet been determined. The cost is eligible for partial reimbursement by the federal government through a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declaration for both storms.
Collier said it took more than seven months to clean up the beach area due to the double-whammy of the two storms and the delay in the federal disaster declaration following Hurricane Zeta, which inundated Dauphin Island with storm surge when it came ashore on October 28 before leaving a trail of destruction through Mobile County. A FEMA disaster declaration is important because, once it’s declared by the president, state and local governments can be reimbursed for 75% of the costs to remove debris associated with the storm.
The FEMA declaration occurred on December 10, more than 40 days after the storm slammed into Alabama. A total of 19 Alabama counties were part of former President Donald Trump’s disaster declaration.
“There was a delay, or a lag time of the storm being declared (a disaster by FEMA) so a lot of things were put on hold,” said Collier. “That cost us a good 45 days. Beyond that, you have the holidays with Christmas and New Year’s, and it just got strung out. The bottom line is there was a lot to be done twice due to the nature of those two storms.
Collier said the city had about “two-thirds” of the West End Beach cleared of inundated sand from Hurricane Sally when Zeta arrived.
“I’m just so glad to put that behind us,” he said.
In addition to the cleanup, the city spent approximately $60,000 to expand the beach’s parking lot from 120 spots to 200. A new public bathroom is under construction, and should be open by mid-May.
Collier said the expanded beach parking will drive more traffic to what he says is the most popular beach on the barrier island. He said the city also plans to host sunset concerts and family movie nights at the beach.
“One of the more popular things about it is that it’s so close to the beach,” Collier said about the expanded parking lot. “It’s a good thing from a visitor standpoint. You park your car, and you get out onto the beach. It’ so close and convenient. It’s a beautiful area and the sunsets are wonderful and all of the different things … it’s all of those things combined that make it an attractive beach.”
The city charges $3 per car to visit the beach, plus an additional $3 fee for people age 13 and older. Anyone under age 13 can enter for free.
