To increase berthing space to accommodate larger modern cargo ships, Port Everglades initiated the redevelopment of 25 acres of container yard and berthing apron space at its Southport Turning Notch.
WSP provided engineering design and construction oversight for the project, which involved excavation of three million cubic yards of material to create a 42-foot-deep turnaround area for cargo ships with an additional five berths, including a Super Post-Panamax. Marine and landside improvements entailed 5,000 feet of seawall/wharf, and marine and utility infrastructure including a stormwater drainage system comprising 7,200 feet of pipe and 1,900 feet of exfiltration trenches.
To offset project impacts, WSP developed environmental mitigation to satisfy permit requirements. The team restored approximately 16.5 acres of upland mangrove marsh by excavating fill to re-contour the marsh and planted it with 70,000 Florida-native, nursery-grown mangrove and wetland transition buffer plants.
The mitigation design created additional mangrove habitat through the construction of riprap planters and restored the shoreline of an existing manatee nursery area through the removal of existing nuisance exotic vegetation and the reconfiguration of the eroded shore. Reef mitigation included relocating 814 corals to create three acres of artificial reef habitat for natural recruitment to replace nearly 15 acres of existing hard-bottom reef habitat.
To document the success of the mitigation areas, WSP monitors the mangrove and reef habitat on a quarterly basis, and ongoing observations of wildlife has revealed wading birds, shorebirds and other highly mobile avian species. Additionally, WSP assesses the health of the relocated corals, most of which show signs of recovery from previous parrotfish predation.
