A ferry to fort Pickens by summer?
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Picture Courtesy of the National Park Service Fort Pickens on Pensacola Beach has been inaccessible by car since Hurricane Ivan in September of 2004.

Old battlefields don't die, they just fade away.

As historic American Civil War sites such as the infamous wheatfield in Gettysburg, Pa. and the nearby outpost of Fort Morgan, Ala. fall into disrepair and disappear under modern development, local officials struggle to keep storm-battered Fort Pickens on Pensacola Beach accessible to the public.

The fort, which was desperately held by the Union Army throughout the Civil War, is now only accessible on foot or by boat - much like it was in the mid 19th century. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan destroyed the road leading to the structure and surrounding campground. Those without access to a boat must endure a fourhour hike to enjoy the historic site.

However, officials from the National Park Service hope to restore accessibility to the Fort Pickens area in the near future.

"I hope to have limited access to one section of the campgrounds very soon," said Jerry Eubanks, Superintendent of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Fort Pickens is currently accessible by boat or a four-mile hike.

Eubanks recently unveiled plans to start a ferry service from mainland Pensacola to the fortification on Santa Rosa Island. The ferry service, which would cost consumers $15 to $20 per round trip, would be a temporary extension of a similar service in Gulfport, Miss. Eubanks added that he would like to see one boat making trips by the end of the summer and would eventually send the ferry contract out for competitive bid.

"I wanted to get a ferry service before the road went out," Eubanks said.

Fort Pickens Road wasn't the only corridor damaged on federal property that is yet to be repaired. J. Earle Bowden Way, the highway that connects Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach has also been out of commission since 2004. Eubanks said the two projects would cost a total of approximately $40 to $55 million to repair and blames the delay on environmental rehabilitation and restrictive government entities.

"I just don't have a crystal ball," Eubanks said when asked when the roads might be repaired. "The faster the island recovers, the faster we'll see those roads. We have to have a design that won't impede the natural movement of the island. We have to contain the road and hold it in place while the gulf and the island do their thing."

Eubanks added that the Federal Highway Administration would not release the necessary road funding until certain hardening structures, like articulated concrete block or sheet piling, are installed. Eubanks estimated that J. Earle Bowden Way would be the first to be repaired due to its designation as an evacuation route and the existence of fewer environmental complications.

Despite its current remote disposition, Fort Pickens is an important historical relic that serves as a beacon of hope against all odds. Hope against surrounding enemy encampments during the Civil War and hope against the destructive forces of nature during modern times.

"Fort Pickens represents a continuum of our nation's history," said Gail Bishop, Chief of Interpretation and Education for Gulf Islands National Seashore. Bishop added that when the state of Florida seceded from the union in 1861, larger garrisons at near by Forts Barrancas and McRee also became confederate units.

"This area was very active in the early part of the war," she said. "The war could have very easily begun at Fort Pickens instead of Fort Sumter."