Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday directed the Florida Department of Transportation to expedite the restoration of two-way traffic on A1A in Flagler Beach, which was severely damaged earlier this month during Hurricane Matthew.

As a result, the Department of Transportation will immediately proceed with an emergency procurement that will result in the reopening of A1A no later than 45 days after contract execution, the governor's office said in a news release.

The contract for restoration is expected to be executed over the weekend (Oct. 22-23), and construction will begin early next week. Once the contract is in place, the contractor will have no longer than 45 days to restore north-south traffic flow to the impacted area of A1A.

More than a week ago, the Department of Transportation estimated it would cost about $35 million and take six months to a year to reopen the 1.3 miles of State Road A1A that were battered during Hurricane Matthew.

The stretch of damaged highway extends from South 9th Street to South 22nd Street in Flagler Beach.

"Getting our communities back to work as quickly and safely as possible is our No. 1 priority, and we must make A1A operational as soon as we can," Scott said in a statement. "That's why I've directed FDOT to use all available resources to get A1A reopened as soon as possible. This expedited timeline will get residents and tourists back onto A1A so that families and businesses in the area can get back on their feet and return to their normal routines."

The state and the Department of Transportation are responsible for reconstructing and reopening A1A, and all aspects and phases of the project will be managed and overseen by the agency. This includes installing temporary lanes on A1A in both directions. The new lanes will shift A1A farther to the west, with southbound traffic using newly constructed temporary pavement.

The existing lane that didn't sustain extensive damage will be made traffic-ready and will be utilized by northbound traffic.

The Department of Transportation will also shorten the detour on the north and south sides of the impacted area, giving access to more businesses and homes, the governor announced. It will also lower the number of vehicles using South Central Avenue as a thoroughfare.