LTC 440-2018 Indian Creek Drive Seawall Replacement Corrective A!v\IAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139 , www .miamibeachfl .gov
Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
Tel: 305-673-70 l 0 , Fax: 305-673 -7782
NO . LTC # 440-2018 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of he City Co
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE: August 8, 2018.
SUBJECT: Indian Creek Drive Seawall Replacement Corrective Action
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide a status update of the Indian Creek
Seawall project.
On January 12, 2018, L TC No.010-2018 was published advising the public of regulatory
permitting non-compliance associated with the seawall replacement along Indian Creek Drive.
The City of Miami Beach continues to meet with regulatory agencies to determine the best path
forward to complete the seawall project as part of the Indian Creek Drive reconstruction. There
was the 3rd interagency meeting on Friday, August 3rd to discuss the latest information. Prior to
the meeting, the City provided the attached remedial action plan letter to allow the agencies the
time to consider information that has been obtained during the examination of how the new
seawall was constructed. The tone and discussions in the meeting were geared toward
resolving all outstanding regulatory concerns so the project can move forward . -
A major portion of the overall project is the construction of a seawall to replace the piecemeal
remnants of the existing and individually owned structures that were frequently overtopped by
tide waters and in varying states of disrepair. This work requires a permit issued by each of the
regulatory agencies: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District,
and Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management. It is worth
noting that the seawall is not currently impacting the schedule of the roadway work as that work
is getting ready to move into the second phase of construction.
The earlier seawalls that were built along Indian Creek Drive, over the past 100 years consist of
varying materials and methods that had significant curvatures in some locations. Other
locations had walls that were not vertical but sloping toward the water with the wall being thicker
at the bottom than the top. There are additional construction challenges in areas where the
foundation of the prior structure protrudes into the water, which increases the distance between
the face of the new wall and that of the prior wall at the water surface, making the new wall
appear further waterward of the prior than it actually is .
;
In some cases, however, where the old wall was constructed with a significant curvature, the
new wall is too far away from the previously existing structure. This was determined by a
survey of what had previously existed and what was newly constructed . There are three
locations that have become obvious that the wall was built in excess of permitting standards and
needs to be removed and reconstructed adjacent to the prior structure.
The City has reviewed all of the sections of the walls along the route and has identified a
multitude of construction impediments which presented challenges for the new construction.
These have been shared with the agencies in an effort to clearly define what sections of the wall
need to be removed and what sections it makes sense to leave in place, since removal and
replacement of the wall could result in the replacement segment in the same location due to the
impediments.
It is also worth noting that removing a section of the wall causes turbidity and disrupts the
channel floor which can be environmentally degrading . At the end of the day, the negotiated
course of action needs to be both fiscally and environmentally reasonable . As a result, some
conversation centered around leaving the wall in place and providing another method of
mitigation .
A pending site visit with the regulatory agencies will refine the three locations and the limits of
the sections of the seawall to be removed and replaced . The next step will be to complete the
necessary permitting process with revised documentation as required.
Should you have any questions, please contact myself or Eric Carpenter at 305-673-7080 .
fl
JLM/ETC/JJF
MIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive, Miami Beach, Florida 33139,
www.miamibeachfl .gov
ERIC CARPENTER
Assistant City Manager
Tel: 305-6737080
Fax: 305-673-7028
VIA EMAIL
July 27, 2018
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers : jonathan.c.pempek@usace .army.mil
South Florida Water Management District: gvazguez@sfwmd .gov
Miami-Dade County DERM: lisa .spadafina@miamidade.gov;
joanne.clingerman@miamidade.gov
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter and enclosed graphic describe the City of Miami Beach's proposed corrective
action for the Indian Creek Seawall Project. It is provided in advance of a meeting, scheduled for
Friday, August 3, where we will explain in greater detail our thinking regarding specific areas of the
project.
As an initial matter, the City of Miami Beach apologizes for the errors made during
construction of this project. The City is chagrined at how several sections of the Indian Creek
Seawall were installed. The City, like your agencies, is a governmental body. In this capacity, we
are responsible for always acting in the public interest and following legal requirements. The
seawall replacement project is critical for the City because it reconstructs an important piece of
aging infrastructure needed to deal with rising sea levels, including King Tides, and is located
adjacent to a hurricane evacuation route. But, the seawall should have been properly installed.
When the e rrors became known, the City stopped work on the project, and the City employee who
was responsible for overseeing the work of the contractor is no longer with the City. The
construction errors have already cost the City substantial funds, undercut our ability to serve our
residents, and have delayed the completion of a project needed to minimize street flooding . We will
fully cooperate with the regulatory agencies in completing this important public works project.
Marked in blue on the enclosed graphic are three sections of the seawall that the City
intends to remove and replace because they are an excessive distance from the preexisting
bulkhead. This decision is based on inspections by City staff, discussions with the contractor, and
review of pre-project and as-built surveys. The City intends to remove and replace the seawall
installed at the following locations:
• between 37 and 38 Street
• between 30 and 31 Street
• between 29 and 30 Street
The City proposes to leave in place the remaining portions of the seawall that have been
built to date and are marked in orange in the attached graphic. The photographs embedded in the
attached graph ic illustrate project area conditions that required the seawall, in certa in areas, to be
located as constructed. All the photos are labeled with Point Numbers that depict the conditions at
Letter to Agencies
Re: Indian Creek Seawall
July 27, 2018
Page 2 of2
the locations marked with that point on the graphic. Most of the photos are self-explanatory. In each
case, the installed wall location is attributed to documented construction barriers, including
subsurface conditions, structural interference (e.g., slanted seawall, extended toe of old seawall,
asphalt ramp) and similar obstacles . Other photographs show where a preconstruction survey
incorrectly identified the presence of a remnant seawall, resulting in what appears to be a large
deviation between old and new seawall when the new seawall is, in fact, adjacent to the remnant
wall.
The deviations, where they have occurred, are minor and have had no adverse impact on
the environment. Removing those segments of seawall makes little sense to us from either an
environmental or fiscal perspective. Most of the areas between the seawalls and the roadway were
not seagrass habitat because they were landward of the established bulkheads. Removing those
segments would require pulling the king piles and panels and will stir up sediment that could impact
the nearby benthic communities. To the extent regulatory agencies were to require relocating the
seawalls closer to the roadway, this would also entail demolition of the older bulkheads underwater,
creating even more turbidity and potential harm to the environment. Now that the seawall is there,
the best approach is to decide what action will cause the least environmental harm going forward. In
our judgment, the portions of the seawall that merit removal are those shown in blue in the attached
graphic.
Based on surveys and photos taken during construction, a substantial portion of the seawall
was constructed within eighteen inches of the existing bu lkhead . Our investigations have confirmed
that there were preexisting bulkheads waterward of the mean high water line at various locations,
some of which were old enough that they were submerged at high tide , and others had irregular
shapes. In some cases, these bulkheads are located several feet away from the apparent shoreline
depicted on the preconstruction survey, because they are so old (built in some cases nearly a
century ago) and were built when sea levels were lower. (The age and condition of these bulkheads
is the reason why the project is being built today.) The contractor located the seawall next to those
bulkheads in many locations because it needed to be cl.ear of the concrete and rock of the existing
bulkheads to locate the seawall. The contractor has reported that this was a more common
condition in the project area than was in itially apparent. The City and its contractor should have
brought these field conditions to the attention of the agencies . The City does not intend to remove
the seawalls constructed next to these old bulkheads as we believe they are in compliance with the
intent of the permits and would have been authorized if discussed with the agencies in the field at
the time of construction.
We thank you for your patience as we have put together the information for this letter and the
attached graphic. We look forward to meeting with you to discuss this proposal. At that meeting, it is
our intention to show you more detailed information regarding our proposal so that you can
understand our approach to the different segments of the seawall.
Enclosure
S i ncerely~ g~ .. .
Eric Carpente, P.E.
Assistant City Manager
We are commitred to provi</Ji1g excellent publk.: se1vice and safety to all who live, work, and pk1y in our vibrant, rropirnl. historic com11wn1(y.
Page
3
4
5
5
5
6
6
7
7
7
7
8
8
9
9
9
10
10
10
11
11
11
11
11
12
12
12
Photo
37th St -38th St Looking North
Point 573-584 Looking North
Po i nt 547 -curb on top of existing wall
Point 547 Looking South
Point 547 looking South (bottom right)
Points: 542-539 looking South
Points : 539-542 looking North
Point 538
Point 537
Point 536
Point 535
Points : 534-533 looking South (top left)
Points : 534-533 looking South (bottom right)
At Point : 526 looking South
At Point: 525 (middle)
At Point: 525 (bottom left)
Point 524: looking South toward the curve at 26th St
Points : 518-520 (middle)
Points 518-520 (bottom)
Point 516 (top left)
Point 516 (top r ight)
Point 516 (middle)
Point 516 (bottom left)
Point 516 (bottom right)
Point 515
Point 513
Point 511
Page #2
Description
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Greater deviation due to straightened new seawall compared to curved old seawall
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Greater deviation due to straightened new seawall compared to curved old seawall
New seawall being built against waterward face of old seawall
New seawall being built against waterward face of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Close proximity between new seawall and old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Greater deviation due to foundation elements at base of old seawall
Greater deviation due to foundation elements at base of old seawall
Greater deviation due to foundation elements at base of old seawall
Greater deviation due to foundation elements at base of old seawall
Greater deviation due to foundation elements at base of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
Surveyed MHWL recorded further landward due to degraded condition of old seawall
8/3/18
---To be removed and replaced
Indian Creek Seawall
-To be removed and relaced
-To remain
10 0
-To be removed and replaced
-To remain
10 0
-To be removed and replaced
-To remain
20 10
20 10 0
Indian Creek Seawall
-To be removed and replaced
-To remain
20 10 0 20
Feet
-To remain