http://www.glo.state.tx.us/OC/WestGalveston-Restoration.pdf
Resident Tom Semple has been working with the on a personal level with the GLO since Hurricane Ike hit. Tom, BBIC Director Ron Coker and former Director Bill McFarland all attend a GLO meeting in Galveston on August 4.
Tom submitted the following report and copies of the slides used at the meeting. In addition, Tom had follow up conversations with Matthew Mahoney, GLO project manager, Lauren Augustin, Coastal Engineer from HDR, and Andrew Gallagher, assistant city engineer. He advised the board that they were all very helpful in supplying details about the project and what the plans are for both the state and city. They also advised him of some particular issues when it came to Bermuda Beach, but also cautioned that nothing going forward is guaranteed and everything is in pencil, not pen. It could change with a storm, a stroke of a pen or a short fall in city funding. With that said, these are his notes from those meetings; We hope you find them helpful.
The GLO will construct a dune and do a beach re-nourishment
from the end of the seawall to 13 mile road (approximately 5.8
mile to Pirates Beach West).
Cost of the total project was said at the meeting to be over 40
million dollars (state records show a budget of $46,415,031).
About 30 million will be for sand, with about 16 million for everything
else (engineering design, GLO support, planting vegetation, drainage
pipes, etc.).
They will make the dune 45 feet wide at the base unless restricted
by city property (ROW - i.e., Bermuda Beach Drive) or by private
property (Houses at Pirates Beach). In those cases, the seaward
side of the dune will be a constant (it will be straight); they
will adjust via changing the landward side of the dune. In some
cases, the dune base will only be 15 to 20 feet across (Pirates
Beach).
The top of the dune will be at 10 feet above sea level, no matter
what the cross section of the base, and no matter the elevation
of the landward side of the dune. They have assumed the 200 foot
line (from mean low tide) is on the 4.5 foot line (elevation)
- so they show the dune height in their slides to be 5.5 feet.
(Looking from the beach, this will be true.) They do realize that
the elevation varies between 3 and 7 ft on the landward side.
The constant is the top of the dune at 10 feet above sea level,
so the dune will look to have varying heights as the topology
changes on the landward side.
If the dune is between 30 and 45 feet wide at the base, the top
will have a flat part on it, at most 10 feet across. If the dune
is 15 to 30 feet across at the base, it will come to a rounded
point.
The GLO will construct 3 ADA compliant walkovers. Locations are
being determined now. Additional walkover can be built but need
a permit from the city. http://www.cityofgalveston.org/_private/newstool/newsdoc/Beachfront_Application_41509.pdf.
(Thanks for the address Jerry)
The dune will be only sand. There will be no clay or matting added
to help stabilize the dune.
The dune will have pass through drainage pipes (4 foot diameter
black plastic pipes) placed at strategic points. (For example,
there is one to be placed at the intersection of Jane Road and
Bermuda Beach Road, which will drain the water from the road east
of Pabst Road).
The slope of the dune will be a 3 to 1 ratio (1 foot up for every
3 feet in - angle of incline will be about 18 degrees).
Sand will come from the South Jetty and the Ship Channel/Bolivar
Ferry Basin.
They will use a hopper dredge boat to harvest the sand (it will
suction it off the bottom and transport it to the dune project).
The boat will position itself about 5000 feet off shore (it needs
about 25 feet of water).
The sand will be brought in as a slurry with sea water via a submerged
pipe (will look similar to the 1995 nourishment of the seawall
beach).
The construction company will have a 1/2 mile fenced-in area that
will move down the coast to isolate the construction area.
They will move from east to west taking 6 month to complete the
5.8 miles of beach.
There are no benefits for the contractor to end early; there are
penalties if they are late. Only benefit for ending early is to
be able to move the equipment on to the next job.
The construction plan has the boats running 24/7, constantly delivering
sand.
The construction plan has the bull dozers operating only in the
daylight (about 12 hours a day), unless they get behind schedule.
The current Bollards marking Bermuda Beach Road will be removed
during the construction of the dune when at Bermuda Beach.
When the dune is complete, there will be sand-fencing placed in
front of the dune on the seaward side in sections at 45 degree
angles for the turtles
The Dunes will be planted. Planting will start some time February
at the seawall and continue behind the line of construction. Nurseries
are being contacted now so there will be enough plants come next
spring. Starting date for planting is being determined by Texas
A&M so the plants have the best chance of surviving. The GLO
asked the people at the meeting to water the dune in front of
their house. That would be a big help as there are no plans to
irrigate the dune.
The GLO will not put up signs to stay off the Dune, they asked
the local community organization to do that (i.e., HOA), or private
properties owners to do that (people that live next to the dune).
The new dune when completed will add about 200 feet of beach,
which includes an extra 100 to 140 feet. Over the following 6
to 9 month, the extra sand will move onto the slope under the
water so the final stable beach will be 60 to 90 feet wide. (The
dune will be 45 feet wide at the base – in most areas, and
the average beach width should be 75 feet, so from the bollards
to the water should be about 120 feet).
There will be a "scarp" step in the sand as the beach
goes through the 6 to 9 month equilibrium process of sand movement
into the water and onto the slope.
The Bid Package from the GLO should be ready on August 15th.
Anyone will be able to purchase and download the bid package for
75 dollars.
Contractor proposals are due September 15th (there are only 3
companies that can handle a project of this size. The GLO has
been in contact with all three and they hope that all 3 bid).
They should award the contract by October 1st.
The winner will have to meet the requirements to work in the gulf
(permits, insurance, bonded, etc.). Meeting these requirements
will take at least a month as with the BP Horizon incident, working
in the gulf has a higher visibility now. The winner will also
have to move the equipment to the waters off of Galveston (a lot
of the equipment is in the waters off of New Orleans – so
this should not cause a delay).
The first bit of sand should be on the move by November 15th.
Construction should be at Bermuda Beach (east end of the road)
by mid February and completed at the west end of Bermuda Beach
by early March (They can do about a mile a month, they figure
about February 15th to March 7th for Bermuda Beach, depending
on when they start and the weather).
The Completion of the project down to 13 mile road will be mid-April.
The work will not stop because of turtle nesting season. The GLO
has a permit to continue the work (they will monitor for turtles
during the nesting season starting on April 1st until the job
is completed).
They estimated the clock is being set back 10 years on erosion.
The city will have beach access points through the dune. For Bermuda
Beach, the plan is to have a break in the dune at the beach parking
area at the end of Pabst Road.
The Dune in front of Bermuda Beach will be constructed from east
to west. The base at the east end will be only 25 feet wide with
the top coming to a rounded point.
As one travels west, the base of the dune will gradually widen
to the full 45 feet by the west end of Bermuda Beach Road, and
that will have a flat top, 10 feet wide.
After the dune in Bermuda Beach is completed (early March), the
city will start to rebuild the road (mid-March).
All roads (except Bermuda Beach Road) will be re-paved.
Bermuda Beach Road is proposed to be an 8 inch thick clay/limestone
road (We have a 4 inch clay/limestone road now). State law does
not allow the city to put a permanent structure on the beach.
About ¾ of the street (from the east end to Rachel Road)
will have part of the road on the seaward side of the 200 foot
line, and thus can’t be made from a solid material (cement
or asphalt).
The centerline elevation of Bermuda Beach Road will be 6.4 feet
above sea level (right now the road is about 4 feet above sea
level. Sand will be brought in to raise the base up to 5.8 ft,
then topped off with limestone). The current plan is to fill in
the 50 foot wide right of way (ROW) between the dune and the home
owners land with sand to 5.8 ft.
The clay/limestone road will be offset from the middle of the
ROW. The road will be 10 feet from the home owners property line,
the clay/limestone road will be 20 feet wide, and there will be
a 20 foot wide strip of land between the road and the dune (would
allow parking on the seaward side of the street).
In addition, offsetting the road might allow the city to pave
the road west of Pabst Road if the city can keep the entire width
of the road landward of the 200 foot line.
The city will put back the bollards on the seaward side of the
road once the road is complete.
City construction of the road should start in mid-March and be
completed by end of April.
Plans for the road are submitted but not approved. In addition,
the roads department does not have monetary approval from the
city yet, and the job has not been permitted – those are
the next steps once the plans are approved.
The plans include an inverted "T" at both ends of Bermuda
Beach Road to allow cars to turn around.
The legs of the “T” will be only 12 feet wide –
so it will look like a driveway. No parking signs will be posted
at the turnarounds so people don’t park in them.
Submitted by: Tom Semple
12706 Bermuda Beach Road