HEADER
Date

To: Honorable Chairman Bruno A. Barreiro
and Members, Board of County Commissioners

From: George M. Burgess
County Manager

Subject: Supplemental Report: Proposed Plan of Action for Existing Fishing Piers Along the Rickenbacker Causeway

OTHER
In accordance with the Board of County Commissioners� (BCC) request to present a proposed plan of action for the existing Rickenbacker Causeway Fishing Piers at the March 4, 2008 BCC meeting, the following report is provided.

The Rickenbacker Causeway, (unsigned SR 913), is named after Edward Rickenbacker, a former World War I pilot and prominent citizen. Its construction was completed in 1947 and it included 1.2 miles of bridges and 2.7 miles of roadway on fill. The Causeway is presently a toll road, owned and operated by Miami-Dade County that connects the City of Miami to the barrier islands of Virginia Key and Key Biscayne across Biscayne Bay and provides access to the residencies of these barrier islands as well as to many facilities such as the Miami Seaquarium, the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the Miami Marine Stadium and the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.



View of Rickenbacker Fishing Piers



View of Rickenbacker West Fishing Pier


There are three (3) bridges along the Causeway that are open to vehicular traffic:

1- The West Bridge, located adjacent to the Causeway entrance Toll Plaza.
2- The new William Powell Bridge, a high level fixed bridge, built in 1985, that is 3,611 feet long and provides 76�-10� of vertical clearance over the Mean High Water elevation. This bridge was built adjacent to and replaced the Old William Powell Bridge, now commonly called the �Fishing Piers�. Please refer to the pictures above.
3- The Bear Cut Bridge, located at the entrance to Key Biscayne.

The need for the replacement of the Old William Powell Bridge in 1985 was due to the deteriorated condition of the bridge. The center portion, which consisted of a movable bascule span, was removed and the fixed approaches were left in place. The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and opened to the public to be used as fishing piers. These two (2) remaining approaches are commonly referred to as the East Fishing Pier and the West Fishing Pier.

Miami-Dade County Public Works Department (PWD) staff periodically inspects these facilities and as a result of these inspections and to insure the public�s safety, the worst of the two (2) sections, the West Fishing Pier, was closed on August 1st, 2007. It is the purpose of this report to provide a recommended overall plan to continue to provide the public with a viable fishing facility.

Immediate Repairs to the East Fishing Pier:

Due to the necessity to maintain a fishing facility open to the public at all times and based on the deteriorated condition of the East Fishing Pier, PWD is recommending to repair this Pier as soon as possible. A Design Consultant is in the process of being selected in order to prepare construction documents for the Pier repairs. The Consultant selection is being done through the Equitable Distribution Program (EDP) in order to expedite this project. Furthermore, the PWD is proposing to use the CICC 7360 type of construction contract in order to reduce the time required to accomplish the work. A very preliminary cost estimate of the proposed repairs to the East Fishing Pier is approximately $ 1.0 million.

Demolition of West Fishing Pier:

Concurrently with the aforementioned repair work, the PWD is proposing the complete demolition of the West Fishing Pier (superstructure and substructure). A preliminary cost estimate of the proposed demolition of the West Fishing Pier is approximately $1.0 million. The use of a separate contract will allow the PWD to perform the demolition at the same time as the East Fishing Pier repairs, thus saving time and money.

In order to avoid impact to the residents who utilize the fishing pier, the needed repairs may be accomplished with limited partial closures of the pier for equipment and material delivery, since all of the work to be performed is under the surface of the deck.

Funding Strategy for the Repairs and Demolition Work:

The PWD has identified a total of $2.1 million in Better Building Communities GOB funds that have been or are in the process of being transferred to this project (GOB Project No. 130a), through modifications to Project No. 130 and Project No. 134.

GOB Project No. 130 modifications
The original funding for the Bear Cut Fishing Catwalk Repairs was $1,500,000. Because of the severity of deterioration, PWD is proposing to demolish and remove the fishing catwalk completely instead of rehabilitating it. The cost of the demolition of the Bear Cut Fishing Catwalk is $400,000. The remaining $1,100,000 is being made available for the repair or replacement of the Fishing Piers at Old William Powell Bridge. This item has already been approved by GOE and BCC (Resolution R-197-08).

GOB Project No. 134 modifications
The original funding for the Old Cutler Road Bridge over C-100 Canal is $1,800,000. The PWD staff conducted an evaluation of the existing bridge geometry and determined that it meets current design standards and is currently in good structural condition. Therefore, PWD recommends that, elements of the bridge, roadway approaches and rehabilitation work identified by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) inspection report be implemented instead of its entire replacement. The estimated cost for these repairs is $800,000. The remaining $1,000,000 is being made available for the repair or replacement of the Fishing Piers at Old William Powell Bridge, which is the subject of the accompanying agenda item, scheduled for the July 1, 2008 BCC meeting.

NEW FISHING PIER:

After the refurbishment of the East pier and the demolition of the West Pier are complete, a brand new Fishing Pier is proposed to be built at the same location of the demolished West Pier. The cost of the new Pier will depend on the type of structure selected, as well as its length and width. A very rough cost estimate based on a Pier length of approximately 300 feet is $ 1.0 to 1.5 million. This could vary depending on the final new Pier configuration and desired amenities. This project will be programmed under the Causeway Capital Program once a more accurate estimate is developed.







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Assistant County Manager