The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) commissioned WGI to perform subsurface utility engineering (SUE) services to locate various utilities adjacent to Brooks Bridge. Built in the mid-1960s to connect downtown Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island, the bridge carries SR 30/US 98 over Santa Rosa Sound which is part of the Gulf Coast Intracoastal Waterway. The bridge was built with a 50- year design life and no longer meets current design standards. FDOT conducted a study resulting in the determination that replacement of the bridge would solve structural deficiencies, offer compliance with current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements, and improve navigational clearance requirements. 

WGI assisted with the horizontal location of subaqueous utility lines adjacent to the bridge along SR 30/US 98 on the south side of Ft. Walton Beach in Okaloosa County. Efforts included designating the existing gas line and electric line; each located approximately 20’ below the bottom of Santa Rosa Sound (approximately 1,000 LF per line). WGI worked closely with Okaloosa Gas District and Gulf Power Company to gain access to the conduit lines, and with our field crews to perform on an accelerated schedule so the investigations were completed prior to the winter months (considered peak season for gas lines). 

The team successfully mapped the subaqueous conduits and reviewed the position measurement data for repeatability and its observed spread (distance from average measurements). Using this methodology, WGI confidently generated individual plan profiles for each utility, assisting in design efforts for the replacement bridge.