Marineland of Florida

Atlantic shoreline adjacent to Marineland's Flagler County oceanarium.

In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd placed Marineland’s infrastructure at risk. The hurricane’s 140 mile-per-hour winds, waves, and high tides took their toll on the old coquina revetment that had provided shoreline protection for the attraction since 1938, leaving it vulnerable to future storms. PBS&J was the design-build contractor selected for the restorative work

Working together, FDEP’s Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems (BBCS), FEMA, and PBS&J devised a damage restoration plan that included replacement of the existing coquina revetment. Before getting underway, a backup source of seawater had to be found to replace that brought into the park from the ocean, through large pipes running under the beach. These pipes delivered seawater to huge underground chambers, where it was filtered through sand and gravel beds before being pumped to the tanks. After exploring the alternatives, PBS&J carefully installed two new seawater intake wells, laid an emergency distribution system, and hard-plumbed the wells to the existing and backup distribution systems. The restoration team also worked with the attraction’s animal trainers to acclimate the park’s animals to the sights and sounds of heavy construction.

PBS&J’s coastal experts then directed the process of removing the old revetment and began work on a new granite revetment. As an emergency stabilization measure, PBS&J directed the placement of small granite boulders along the original coquina revetment. This was followed by placement of a permanent granite revetment with four- to six-ton boulders replacing the coquina structure. A 10-foot boardwalk and beach access was also constructed. The sheet-pile design allowed for the creation of 1,000 linear feet of sandy beach suitable for turtle nesting.