News

By Jane Smith
    
    Repairing and replacing crumbling seawalls along the Intracoastal Waterway in Delray Beach will cost about $25 million, according to an estimate by the city’s chief financial officer.
    “You only have to look at the pictures of streets under water and residents in kayaks riding through the streets,” Jack Warner told the City Commission in January when giving his budget presentation. “It’s a new need.”
    Indeed, during the seasonal high tides last year, a kayaker was spotted paddling down Marine Way, just south of Atlantic Avenue.
    Warner did give commissioners some good news: The city won’t have to bear the burden of that cost. State and federal grants are available, he said.
    The city has about 20 miles of seawalls, new Environmental Services Director John Morgan said. The public seawalls are in various areas along the Intracoastal, he said. They sit at the intersections of the three bridges, in Veterans Park, along Marine Way and other areas.
    Seawalls run about $250 a linear foot to build, he said. “From Veterans Park to Marine Way, the city has 1,900 linear feet of seawalls,” Morgan said.
    The City Commission approved hiring the Wantman Group for $28,850. The engineering firm will provide a structural analysis of the seawalls, bulkheads and public docks along the Intracoastal in Veterans Park, the city marina and along Marine Way. The structures have been damaged over time by seasonal high tides and from wave action from boats.
    To his knowledge, this marks the first comprehensive study of the city’s seawalls. He explains: For a long time after the city was founded, it was just shoreline along the Intracoastal. Development happened incrementally with homes and condos built there. Seawalls went up without an overall plan for the waterfront, he said.
    The study will determine which are public and private seawalls, their condition and whether replacement is needed, how high they must be to hold back rising water and what construction method would allow the seawalls to last for 50 years. The city now uses a combination of seawalls and pumps and valves to confront street flooding, Morgan said.
    The project would take about 10 years to complete because various state and federal agencies will have to sign off on it, plus nearby private property owners may have to upgrade their seawalls. It doesn’t make sense to have a strengthened seawall next to an area not protected or with a crumbling seawall, he said.
    By the time the engineering and design costs are included, the overall price will likely rise above $25 million, Morgan said.
    In other action in January, Delray Beach commissioners passed a resolution endorsing a state Senate bill to require solar-powered, in-road lights to improve bicyclist safety along coastal roads.
    Lighting is reduced seven months each year to prevent disorienting sea turtle hatchlings. If passed, the bill would require lights on coastal roads rebuilt or added after July 1. State Sen. Maria Sachs, Delray Beach, is the sponsor.