Keeping the swimming in the ocean rather than the streets has to be a priority for Miami Beach after massive flooding engulfed parts of Indian Creek Drive and other vulnerable SoBe stretches last fall.
The city of Miami Beach and Florida Department of Transportation are working on a $25-million plan to help prevent such occurrences, per the Miami Herald.
Besides more construction, here are the details:
▪ Building a sea-wall from 26th to 41st streets, at a higher elevation. The wall would be built on top of a sheet pile wall that would reach 20 feet deep so as to prevent water from flowing underground as well as over the wall and into the road.
▪ Constructing a pump station at 32nd Street.
▪ Installation of a 72-inch drainage line that would connect to an existing drainage system on 41st Street.
▪ Raising the road a few feet. According to a city memorandum, Beach officials would have to study what impact a higher road would have on surrounding businesses.
The state would pay $19.5 million because Indian Creek Drive is a state-owned road but the city would pony up $5.5 million as the upgraded system would aid nearby city streets. The goal is to have the work finished within the next two years.
It's nice to see the city and state coordinating a quick plan to help ease flooding concerns in the present but this is the latest band-aid solution for the larger issue at hand.
With sea level likely rising by nearly a foot by 2050, what's the long-term strategy to save/salvage South Beach and other parts of Miami from going under?