The Indian Creek Seawall Project (Project) started in 2016 in an effort to protect the existing corridor against frequent flooding and sea level rise. The contract was awarded to Shoreline Foundation, Inc. (Shoreline), and the Project scope extended from 25th Street to 41st Street along Indian Creek Drive and a portion of Collins Avenue. During the first year of the Project, construction of the seawall only took place within City owned street ends or previously deeded properties.
Thereafter, as the Project progressed, the City was able to extend its construction into additional properties via quit claim deeds or easements. Change Order No. 1 was issued to extend seawall to these additional areas, so there would be a continuous seawall to provide uniform protection from extreme tides and storm surge with the co-benefit that the upland area could be transformed into a greenway.
On December 18, 2017, problems related to the Project construction were identified and the City met in the field with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM), [jointly the “Regulatory Agencies”] regarding the construction of the Project.
The Regulatory Agencies identified deficiencies that include lack of Federal authorization for construction north of 27th Street; construction of the seawall westerly of where permitted, within the State’s submerged lands in the vicinity of 29th Street, 30th Street to 31st Street, and 37th Street to 38th Street. The City immediately issued a stop work order to the contractor, Shoreline, and assigned a new City Project Manager to oversee the construction.
Since December 2017, there have been numerous meetings with the Regulatory Agencies, both in the office and in the field, where the issues related to seawall construction have been reviewed in great detail and the areas of concern distilled to the three main areas: (1) the vicinity of 29th Street, (2) 30th Street to 31st Street, and (3) 37th Street to 38th Street.
The underlying permits for the Project shall require modification to allow for removal of the problematic seawalls that encroach more than 18 inches onto submerged lands, and re-construction of the seawall in appropriate locations, without said encroachment. Resulting consensus of the Regulatory Agencies is to require the seawall in the three above referenced locations to be removed and relocated, consisting of a total of 650 feet of seawall.
In addition to the above plan, the Florida Division of State Lands will require mitigation for the encroachment onto the submerged lands. The City and the Regulatory Agencies are working on a mitigation plan, which may include the City donating similar submerged lands to the State, and other possible options of habitat restoration, or water quality improvements.
The total seawall length along Indian Creek, between 25th Street and 41st Street, is approximately 4,700 linear feet. Shoreline has constructed approximately 2,600 linear feet of the 4,700 linear feet, and 650 feet of the new seawall is to be removed and reinstalled as identified above. The total cost of the 2,600 linear feet of seawall is contracted for $3.7 million.
The total cost for relocating the 650 linear feet of seawall required by the Regulatory Agencies will cost approximately $1 million. The City and Shoreline have discussed the construction and cost issues relating to the Project and the parties are seeking a change order to cover the cost of removing and re-constructing the 650 linear feet, which cost would be borne by both parties.
The Administration is recommending approval of Change Order No. 2, which would include the removal and reconstruction/relocation of the 650 linear feet of seawall, in the three locations identified above, with the City’s total maximum cost not to exceed $529,570.
At its November 30, 2018 meeting, the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee accepted the request for a Change Order for the relocation of the segments of the Indian Creek seawall to resolve the regulatory issues, with the City’s cost for same not to exceed the amount of $529,570