Permits secured for seawall revamp

The Siesta Key north bridge has been bustling with construction activity since the Florida Department of Transportation started a major rehabilitation effort in June. Siesta organizations, concerns about the work driving tourists away, have spent more on marketing the island.

Those marketing efforts conclude around the time work is scheduled to conclude, Oct. 16, but hard hats and neon vests could return soon after that for a major seawall repair.

Sarasota County recently secured permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Corps of Army Engineers, to renovate more than 600 feet of the seawall on Bay Island Park, which is under the west end of the bridge.

A bid hasn’t been issued for the project, which could take six months to finish. Bobbi Claybrooke, associate engineer with Erickson Consulting Engineers Inc., said the timeline swelled two months because of rock strata on the north side of the park. Construction costs will be covered by a $1 million grant from the West Coast Inland Navigation District.

In 2009, the county used similar funds of $126,000 to replace more than 100 feet of the structure on the south end of the park, according to Sarasota County Parks and Recreation Supervisor Rob LaDue. The wave-whipped segment started showing erosion damage, which prompted the county to close part of the park to the public as a safety hazard.

The WCIND check for $1 million is set to expire Sept. 30, 2013, and the grant could be withdrawn if construction hasn’t started by that date. The organization’s board, at a July 18 meeting, lamented dipping into its reserve funds to finance waterway projects throughout the four counties it oversees.

Siesta Key resident and Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson is on the WCIND board, and successfully negotiated a change to budget restrictions that helped increase funding for Sarasota County projects for the 2013 fiscal year.

Erickson Consulting prepared initial plans for the seawall in January.

“It’s possible they may have been tweaked a little since this version,” LaDue said. But, the next hurdle for the project is for Sarasota County and the city of Sarasota to sign a joint protection agreement for the new seawall, because the city owns the northern portion of Bay Island Park.

Sarasota county commissioners will need to approve the agreement, which is expected to happen this fall, LaDue said.

A request for proposal for the work can’t be issued until the agreement is approved, and there could be several work orders involved because landscaping work is required along with the construction work.

“We have the permits and we’re poised to move forward with bidding,” said Sarasota County Parks and Recreation Manager George Tatge.

By The Numbers
Approximate cost: $1 million
Approximate construction time: 6 months
Length of new seawall: 639 feet
County-owned: 389 feet
City-owned: 250 feet
Permits required: 3