Old Flagler Memorial Bridge finds new life as artificial reefs
The limestone and concrete material is excellent for juvenile fish and bottom-feeders, county says.
New life can grow from old bridges.
An example of that was seen this past week, as pieces of the old Flagler Memorial Bridge were taken by barge off the coast of Palm Beach to be dropped into the ocean.
Some of those sec tions will join bits of the bridge placed in the same spot in 2014 as part of an artificial reef that continues to grow into a popular spot for divers and young fish.
Other pieces of the bridge will be used to help reefs grow elsewhere along Palm Beach County’s shoreline, near the Jupiter, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton inlets.
The process serves as an example of how planning can take what would have been a truckload of material destined for a landfill and turn it into something useful.
The Flagler Bridge Stepping Stone Reef sits in 35 to 45 feet of water about a half-mile south of the Lake Worth Inlet and the northern tip of the island. The project has been part of a yearslong partnership between Palm Beach Count y Environmental Resources Management and the Florida Department of Transportation.
“FDOT has partnered with Palm Beach County ERM in the past on other replacement bridge projects, including the Royal Park Bridge whose concrete materials also were used for an artificial reef,” said project spokeswoman Angel Gardner.
Pieces of concrete removed from the Riviera Beach Marina during its refurbishment also were used to create a reef off the coast of Palm Beach, according to county records.
As part of the partnership, FDOT and the contractor transport the pieces of concrete by barge to the reef location, and the county oversees placement and construction, Gardner said.
Not just any old piece of trash can be used to start an artificial reef. The Gulf and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries commissions have set standards on what can be used and how it must be pre- pared. For concrete materials, crews must sift through any debris to make sure concrete is all the Atlantic gets when the load is dropped to the ocean floor.
According to the county, the materials found at the sites where Flagler bridge material is being used — limestone and concrete — are excellent for juvenile fish and bottom-feeders.
The county has created dozens of artificial reefs, including recent approval of the first Florida reef to be built using a submarine, which will be off the coast of Juno Beach.
The new $105 million Flagler Memorial Bridge is slated to open later this year.