The Friends of A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway, Inc. are pleased to announce the official designation of the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway as an All-American Road on February 16, 2021.
Spanning St. Johns and Flagler counties, the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway was comprised of three Florida Scenic Highways, all designated in June 2001 by the Florida Department of Transportation and was officially designated as a National Scenic Byway in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.
After a program hiatus, a call for nominations by the Federal Highway Administration went out nationwide in 2019 and the Friends of A1A felt the byway’s strongest intrinsic qualities of history and recreation met the criteria requirements and the organization’s programs and projects exceeded the visitor experience expectations to become an All-American Road.
“As President of the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway, it was an honor and a privilege to be awarded the designation of All-American Road this morning by the Federal Highway Administration,” said Marge Rooyakkers. “I want to thank our board for all of their contributions. This would not have been possible without the hours of hard work done by our byway administrator Danielle Anderson.”
Recognizing the multi-partner approach from the local, state and federal level, Anderson was appreciative of the overwhelming support for the byway communities, including that from the National Scenic Byway Foundation and Scenic America, to jumpstart the process.
“The designation application was a labor intensive process, especially as the world was grappling with the emerging coronavirus,” said Anderson. “We are grateful to each of our byway stakeholders who took the time to write meaningful letters of support on our behalf, the talented byway experts who helped review our application and provide input, and the Florida Department of Transportation for providing technical support when needed and for their encouragement and belief in our application. We are especially thankful to the U.S. Department of Transportation and members of Congress who continue to see the value of America’s Byways.”
The A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway becomes the second All-American Road in the State of Florida.
For the full release by the Federal Highway Administration, please visit https://cms8.fhwa.dot.gov/newsroom/usdot-announces-new-americas-bywaysr-designations.
