South Ocean Boulevard adjacent to Palm Beach resident Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club reopened to traffic Saturday night for the first time since he won a second term in the White House. Palm Beach officials said in a warning.
President Trump left his Palm Beach mansion Saturday afternoon and headed to Washington, D.C., for events ahead of Monday’s presidential inauguration. He will take the oath of office and return to the White House as the 47th president.
Due to the frigid weather forecast, the swearing-in ceremony will be held inside the Capitol Rotunda instead of outside on the West Front of the Capitol. President Trump will be the first president to take the oath inside the Capitol since Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985.
Saturday was the first time in more than two months that motorists were able to cross the Southern Ocean from South County Road to the Southern Boulevard roundabout. The most recent road closure went into effect on Nov. 4, and President Trump returned to Palm Beach ahead of a Nov. 24 rally. General election on the 5th.
The road has reopened since the town, U.S. intelligence agencies, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Mar-a-Lago reached an agreement announced in mid-August to remove security checkpoints and barricades near the club in President Trump’s absence. This will be the fifth time. Staying at home for a long time.
Officials say the reopening of South Ocean Boulevard has frustrated motorists for months since the north-south highway connecting Palm Beach’s South End with the rest of the island has been closed for so long. He said he hoped the traffic congestion would be alleviated somewhat.
Trump’s departure also means the opening times for the three drawbridges leading to the island will return to their normal schedules, although they will change when Trump returns as part of a temporary security zone implemented by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Removal of the Coast Guard security zone will allow maritime traffic to flow unimpeded through the coast past Mar-a-Lago. While President Trump is home, law enforcement vessels will prevent boaters from pausing near historic homes.
Before reaching the deal in mid-August, the Secret Service had ordered South Ocean Boulevard, which is adjacent to the club, to close 24 hours a day, seven days a week, starting July 20.
Christina Webb is a reporter for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Contact kwebb@pbdailynews.com. To support our journalism, please subscribe today.
