Jacksonville, Fla -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District announces the award construction contract for ecosystem restoration in south Florida valued at more than $24 million. The construction project is part of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (BBCW) Phase 1, L-31 East Flow-way Project. The awarded construction contract, BBCW Contract 5C, includes Pump Station S-710 and associated Dissipation/ Spreader Basin, Pump Station S-711 and associated Spreader Canal, and Seepage Canal C-711W with associated Berm, all of which are components of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). This construction project is located in southeast Miami-Dade County.
The $24,595,381.00 contract was awarded to Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., based in Sunrise, Fla. The estimated project completion date is late 2024.
The purpose of the BBCW project is to rehydrate coastal wetlands and reduce damaging point-source freshwater discharge to Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park. The BBCW project will restore wetland and estuarine habitats and divert an average of 59 percent of the annual coastal structure discharge into freshwater and saltwater wetlands instead of direct discharges to Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park.
BBCW Contract 5C includes the installation of a riser board assembly on the culvert located on the south bank of the C-103 Canal (C-103), between S-710 and S-711, in the North Canal Wetland (NCW). The NCW is the land south of C-103, north of the North Canal, and west of the L-31 Canal, that will be hydrated by S-710 and S-711. The riser board assembly will allow for water level management in the NCW. S-710 and S-711, also located on the south bank of C-103, will pump water from C-103 and discharge it into the NCW through the S-711 dissipation/spreader basin and spreader channel and the S-710 dissipation/spreader basin. The C-711W seepage canal and berm will be located in the NCW, along the western boundary, to prevent NCW water from seeping to the west, onto private lands. C-711W will drain NCW seepage water to C-103, through a culvert in the C-103 embankment.
The BBCW Phase 1 project, located in southeast Miami-Dade County, incorporates the Deering Estate, the Cutler Wetlands, the L-31E Flow-way/North Canal, and recreational features.
BBCW Phase 1 construction is being accomplished by the Corps and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and includes seven pump stations, approximately 10 culverts reconnecting wetlands, approximately three miles of spreader canals, and the plugging of 2,500 feet of mosquito control ditches. Additionally, the Phase 1 project area covers approximately 3,761 acres, with the northern boundary at Deering Estates and the southern boundary at the Turkey Point Power Plant.
Since 2012, our partners at the SFWMD and the Corps have worked together to design and construct the components of the BBCW Phase 1 project to move the project forward.
Additional information on the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands project is available at: www.saj.usace.army.mil/BBCW
Project updates will be available on the web and social media, including the Jacksonville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleDistrict/ and on Twitter @JaxStrong.
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