Confusion as Secret Service closes key road near Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach

As each car approached the traffic circle where South Ocean Boulevard meets Southern Boulevard in Palm Beach on Saturday morning, there were more than a few tapped brakes.

While Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies urged drivers to keep moving, the confusion inside each car was visible with drivers wanting to know: What was happening?

State and local officials announced Thursday and Friday that South Ocean Boulevard north of the traffic circle would be closed indefinitely, extending to South County Road a little more than half a mile north.

It was the latest move by the U.S. Secret Service to tighten security at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, along with Trump's other properties, following an attempted assassination at Trump's campaign rally on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The road is closed to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, officials said. Residents of homes affected by the closure will need to present identification to enter the area, and they must exit and enter from the north. Only law enforcement and fire rescue can pass through both directions, officials said.

The closure took effect at 5 a.m. Saturday, Palm Beach officials announced Friday. That was earlier than the 4 p.m. Saturday timeline that had been announced Thursday afternoon. The Thursday announcement also said the closure would extend through the Nov. 5 general election "at a minimum."

Trump is not at Mar-a-Lago, his primary residence. This summer, he has traveled primarily between his residence at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club and campaign appearances, with a few stops at his Palm Beach club. Earlier this week, he was in Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention. Later Saturday, he will speak at a campaign rally in Michigan.

South Ocean Boulevard is closed beyond what was announced Thursday, when the town said the road would close from the traffic circle north to Woodbridge Road, just beyond Mar-a-Lago's property line.

Instead, the town said Friday that per Secret Service instructions, the closure would include more roads.

Drivers were confused Saturday morning, with no signage along the route to explain what was going on and why. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office would provide electronic signboards, Palm Beach Police spokesman Capt. Will Rothrock said in a Saturday email to the Daily News.

A bulldozer moved concrete barricades into place as orange traffic cones prevented eastbound drivers from entering the traffic circle to travel north. Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies directed confused motorists to navigate what at one point was one lane that would open to first allow northbound traffic to move west onto Southern, then to allow eastbound traffic to move south onto South Ocean.

PBSO will handle checkpoints and traffic issues "immediately adjacent" to the closure, Rothrock said.

"We're monitoring town-wide traffic conditions as a result of the closure, planning for mitigation efforts and intervening where necessary," he said of the Palm Beach Police Department. That is similar to how previous closures around Mar-a-Lago were handled, he added.

Cyclists who regularly use the route for Saturday morning rides were perplexed. Some paused to see if they would be allowed to maneuver through the barricades. One cyclist approaching from the north stopped his bike, put his hands on his hips and questioned why, if Trump is not at Mar-a-Lago, the road must close.

That was the prevailing question from local officials, many of whom said they were caught off-guard by the Secret Service's decision.

The closure is necessary "due to enhanced security measures involving Mar-a-Lago and U.S. Secret Service-protected persons," the alert from Palm Beach Police said.

Town Manager Kirk Blouin said Palm Beach plans to explore its options beginning next week, telling the Daily News the town would be unable to shut down the road indefinitely "unless we're ordered to."

"If there's a protectee in residence, it makes sense," he said. "If there's no one there, I don't understand the road closure at this moment. I don't know the information that the government may have, or if it's a knee-jerk reaction. But for this weekend, it will be closed, and we're going to get more information next week. We're going to challenge the permanent road closure. And we'll try to work, obviously, with the federal government. We think anyone, regardless of political affiliation, should have the necessary protections to keep them safe. But we've got to have other options."

Blouin said the town plans to request a letter from the Secret Service ordering the closure of South Ocean Boulevard.

"Absent a protectee being in Mar-a-Lago, we're not willing to shut the road down," he said. "That's my opinion. The council may decide otherwise."

"The safety and security of our protectees is the U.S. Secret Service’s top priority," a U.S. Secret Service spokesperson said in an emailed statement to the Daily News. "Out of concern for operational security, the Secret Service does not discuss the means and methods used for our protective operations."

Read more about security and traffic at Mar-a-Lago.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Confusion as Secret Service closes key road near Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach