Mizell Johnson State Park Boardwalk

The Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park is located just south of Port Everglades, and is the last example of an undeveloped coastal ecosystem in Broward County, FL. It is a popular location for numerous recreational activities, offering a haven where citizens can escape the hectic pace of the metropolis and reconnect with nature.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Bureau of Design and Construction selected WGI to design and permit the repair/replacement of an approximately 450-foot elevated wooden beach boardwalk and 1,000-foot frangible concrete jetty walkway adjacent to the Port Everglades inlet.

We provided survey, environmental services, structural engineering, and construction administration services for the project on behalf of the FDEP Division of Recreation and Parks.

WGI coordinated extensively with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Navy due to overlapping with the USACE Port Everglades south jetty rehabilitation and Broward County beach renourishment projects at this location and access permissions for the adjacent Navsea Warfare Center. Some of the environmental work included Coastal Construction Control Line permitting; this included a coastal dune vegetation inventory to quantify potential impacts to coastal dune vegetation from construction.

Project Challenges

• Multiple federal, state, and local stakeholders on a project within a state park adjacent to a military facility and major coastal inlet.