One of South Florida’s seaside communities is going high-tech when it comes to replacing its aging seawall.
North Bayshore Drive between Northeast 94th and 97th streets is Miami Shores’ only public waterfront property.
For years, it’s been in desperate need of a new seawall.
Installation is now underway of a “Living Seawall.”
“It is so much better environmentally, it will help build back our lack of marine life,” said Carol Eannace, a longtime Shores resident and chairwoman of the Village’s Sustainability and Resilience Committee.
The panels are made on 3D printers at a facility in South Florida, then trucked over to Miami Shores and installed in front of the existing seawall.
The ribbing features, which are contours on the wall, mimic the roots of Mangrove trees and create spaces and crannies for oysters, fish, coral and other marine life to attach.
“For years we used gray concrete to push the bay back, and this is a reversal of that,” said Miami Shores Mayor Jerome Charles. “We are using modern technology, the Living Seawall, to invite the ecosystem back to Miami Shores.”
“I got to imagine by the end of next year we are going to have fish colonies, little coral colonies, all kinds of sea grasses and oysters attaching to the wall,” said Village Vice Mayor Neil Cantor.
Flat, smooth seawalls aren’t the friendliest environments for marine life to thrive. Seawalls are better, and the one in Miami Shores will be two feet taller, serving an additional purpose.
“This one will actually deter and minimize the storm surge better than a regular one, so even for storm surge, it is beneficial,” Ennace said.