Fort Matanzas beach ramp reopens with ADA upgrades

The Fort Matanzas vehicular beach access ramp is open again after about nine months of construction that added Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) features and repaired hurricane damage, St. Johns County announced.

The ramp, located off State Road A1A about 3.9 miles south of State Road 206, closed Nov. 17, 2025, for a resiliency project carried out under a Cooperative Management Agreement (Resolution 2023-444) between the county and the National Park Service (NPS). The NPS, which owns the property, funded the entire project. No county money was spent, Action News Jax reported, citing a county news release.

Hurricane Damage Drove the Need for Repairs

Hurricanes in 2022 eroded the area between the ramp and the adjacent parking lot, according to the county's project page. The ramp had been reconstructed in 2019 with a tied-back sheet pile wall on three sides, but the storm damage prompted a broader fix.

New Wall, Boardwalk Separate Pedestrians From Vehicles

Crews replaced the masonry wall around the parking area with a new sheet pile wall, reinforced concrete cap and new asphalt paving, according to a county press release issued when the closure began. Workers also built an ADA-compliant timber boardwalk with staircases for direct beach access, a feature designed to separate pedestrians from vehicles on the ramp.

Corryn George, project manager for St. Johns County Public Works, said in the November 2025 closure announcement that the county had worked closely with NPS partners to deliver a long-term resiliency solution.

"Our hope is that this will move pedestrian foot traffic off the vehicular ramp and improve safety in this location," George said at the time.

Reopening Comes Months Behind Original Timeline

The county's project page had listed the closure as running through May 2026. The ramp reopened in early September, several months behind that original estimate. No explanation for the delay appeared in available county records.

During the closure, the Crescent Beach vehicular access ramp served as both an entrance and exit, and a turnaround was available at the Spyglass Beach Access Point.