Area residents 40 years old have never driven Beach Road — Texas 78 between Sabine Pass and High Island. That’s how long it’s been since the road was washed out by Hurricane Jerry 26 years ago. Assuming they got their license at age 16, more than a generation have missed out on the convenience and ecological grandeur of the Hug The Coast Highway.

Even though it’s been closed for many years, County Commissioner Shane Sinegal and County Judge Jeff Branick have not forgotten the importance of the road to area tourism, to the safety of Sabine Pass and for protecting the sensitive fresh-water McFaddin Marsh that is being threatened by salt water intrusion. Commissioners Court filed a formal request to the federal government this week for the abandoned stretch of Beach Road to be designated as a priority project on which the county and the Texas Department of Transportation could work together.

We applaud the Commissioners Court for taking actions that keep the hope of one day rebuilding the Beach Road alive. We encourage state and federal officials to consider the value the road would bring to the entire region and the protection it would provide to a valuable wetlands area. Rebuilding Beach Road would be an investment that would pay many dividends.