Time Catches Up With Belleair Beach's Seawalls

BELLEAIR BEACH — The city's picturesque waterways are lined with aging seawalls nearing the end of their useful lives, and an engineering inspection found the problem is worse than city officials anticipated.

St. Petersburg-based J Foster Consulting last month inspected the city's five oldest seawalls. One needed only routine maintenance. The other four had cracks, broken concrete and other damage.

The seawall at Belle Isle Park was in the worst condition, with “significant” structural cracks and “severely inadequate slab embedment,” according to the inspection report.

“I wasn't expecting to see such an immediate replacement called for at Belle Isle,” City Manager Kyle Riefler said during a July 27 city council workshop. "I recommend that ASAP. The concern is that the slab is going to give way."

Replacing the Belle Isle Park seawall is estimated to cost $300,000. Replacing the 20th Street Park seawall, ranked second on the priority list, is expected to cost $125,000. The 25th Street Park seawall ranked third.

Riefler recommended seeking bids on the three worst seawalls at the same time. He said the city might save money by combining the work into one project.

Council members also discussed using newer materials, including high-density polyethylene, or HDPE, instead of concrete. They said the material could last longer and cost less.

Riefler compared the seawall problem to the city's aging 22nd Street bridge, which was discussed earlier in the workshop. Both involve decades-old concrete exposed to saltwater, he said.

The city is considering about $400,000 in repairs to extend the bridge's life after routine concrete repairs were no longer enough to address its deterioration.

Replacing the Belle Isle Park seawall ranks with the 22nd Street bridge as among the city's highest priority capital projects, Riefler said. He said he did not want a failing seawall to "compromise the park" or nearby property.

City staff will continue studying replacement options as Belleair Beach prepares its next capital improvement budget.

Although the workshop focused on city-owned seawalls, the problem extends beyond public property.

The city's 22-page Seawall Manual says "most of the original seawalls on Belleair Beach are nearing the end of their useful lives or have been replaced."

The manual warns that seawall repairs can be expensive. It recommends that anyone buying waterfront property have the seawall evaluated by a marine engineer before closing on the purchase.

The manual says seawalls help prevent erosion, keep canals at the proper depth, mark property lines and protect waterfront property values.

It also points out that seawalls are built to keep "land in," not "water out."