On July 10, 2005, Hurricane Dennis hit the Florida panhandle near Apalachicola and St. George’s Island as a Category 3 storm. About 14 miles of US Highway 98a coastal tourism and transport corridorsaw shoulder erosion through full roadway buckling. FDOT awarded emergency repairs to reopen travel lanes within 14 days. Lanes returned quickly, but within a month shoulder erosion threatened travel lanes again.
FDOT needed a short-term (1–2 year), cost-effective fix that could handle saline wind and moisture, use salt-tolerant vegetation, and leave room for future shoulder paving. Turf-reinforced matting was considered but missed site needs and priced about $15/yd ($765,000 for TRM alone). Josh Boan and Michael Shepard worked with APS on polymer-enhanced soft armor: regrade shoulders and front slopes, apply compost, open-weave jute with site-specific APS 705 Silt Stop at 50 lb/acre, Bermuda sod over the jute, and temporary silt fence at the toe. Total project cost was $744,650—competitive with TRM while meeting design goals. The polymer bound soil and compost into an erosion-resistant matrix while vegetation established.
More than a year later (August 2006), the soft armor still performed with little maintenance and had survived a Category 1 hurricane and a tropical depression with full roadway survival—avoiding rebuild costs. Jute biodegraded as sod rooted into the topsoil; shoulders became stable enough for waterfront access without erosion fear. FDOT reported performance well beyond expectations for this coastal soft-armor approach to erosion control.
Project: Post–Hurricane Dennis shoulder & front-slope soft armor
When: Summer 2005 (performance noted through Aug 2006)
Partner: Florida DOT (Josh Boan, Michael Shepard)
Products: APS 705 Silt Stop (50 lb/acre) jute · Bermuda sod · compost
Cost: $744,650 total (vs. ~$765,000 TRM material alone)
US Highway 98 Soft Armor project gallery
