At the September 9, 2020 regular city council meeting the city council approved awarding the Wildflower Park seawall replacement project. The construction contract is for $1,521,708 and was awarded to Cone and Graham, Inc. This article provides more details on this project.
Background
In a previous article “Wildflower Past, Present and Future”, we provided background information on the Wildflower Park background dating back to 1914. As shown in the following pictures, the Wildflower Park seawall is deteriorating and gets inundated with seawater at high tides at certain times of the year.
Of particular concern is the water inundation occurring at the annual king tides. These tides are forecasted in 2020 at the following dates and times for Lake Boca:
- September 19 – 11:25AM
- October 17 – 10:16AM
- November 15 – 9:00AM
The tide will peak at Wildflower Park slightly after it peaks at Lake Boca. The height of the tide can be impacted by winds, e.g., winds blowing water in from the ocean will contribute to increased seawater height. Also, storms with reduced air pressure contribute to tide height.
New Seawall Project
Following is a drawing of the new Wildflower Park seawall. NAVD88 is a North American standard for measuring elevation. The top of the new seawall is about 4’ above the water and the bottom of the seawall pilings are about 44’ below the water.
Some features of the new seawall project include:
- About 400’ of seawall will be replaced
- During Wildflower Park construction an 18” decorative cap with LED lighting will be added to the seawall
- Construction will begin at the north end and progress to the south end
- No impacts to Silver Palm Park are anticipated
- No conflicts with the Wildflower/Silver Palm Park construction project are anticipated
- Existing steps to the water will be retained and additional steps added landward
Wildflower Park and Silver Palm Park Project Schedule
Following is the updated Wildflower Park and Silver Palm Park project schedules. It hasn’t been decided to what extent Wildflower Park will remain open during the seawall construction project. Heavy equipment will be arriving and leaving and materials will be stored on-site. This decision will be made with the construction company in the near future.
Summary
This article presents the Wildflower Seawall Replacement construction project, which is scheduled to begin in 2020 and be completed during the summer of 2021. BocaFirst will continue to monitor and report on plans for the Wildflower/Silver Palm Park construction project.
