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got this from the pensacola paper

3- mile stretch of J. Earle Bowden Way opening

Troy Moon • tmoon@pnj.com • May 2, 2008

J. Earle Bowden Way is a 7-mile road that connects Navarre Beach to Pensacola Beach.

The two-lane road was closed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. It had been repaired and reopened for just a few days before Hurricane Dennis destroyed the road in June 2005.

“It’s going to restore the traffic that once went through that area,” said Tommy Speights, spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the $3.4 million restoration of the road. “A lot of tourists — and residents — like to make that drive, and now they have the opportunity.”

The rebuilt parking lots at Opal Beach also will open Friday. The roadway will be open to day traffic only and will close at sunset until the complete road is finished.

No lifeguards will be on duty at Opal Beach.

Though Navarre residents are happy to have partial access, area businesses won’t see any benefit until the whole road is open with 24-hour access, said Kevin Rudzki, manager of Juana’s Pagoda on Navarre Beach. Late summer is the best official estimate of when the full road will open.

“Having the whole road open would be the biggest single boon for the beach,” Rudzki said. “The only thing bigger will be a hotel on the beach, but we’ll take the beach road.”

Rudzki said once the full road is open, he expects more business will come from Pensacola.

“To have it part-way open doesn’t do any good from a business standpoint,” he said. “But it’s a start.”