$240,000 boardwalk nearing completion

MIRAMAR BEACH, FL — Construction of a boardwalk along a portion of Scenic Gulf Drive near Pompano Joe’s is expected to conclude in several weeks and will include handicapped access points and ramps at all crosswalks.
   
Jason Catalano, an aide to Commissioner Cecilia Jones, said the project initially was supposed to be completed at the end of July, but rainy weather combined with permit delays pushed the date to the beginning of August.
   
Once completed, the approximately 2,000-foot-long, 6-foot-wide boardwalk will extend about 1,500 feet west of the newly constructed parking lot and about 500 feet east, he said.
   
The $240,000 project is part of Scenic Gulf Drive Phase II. According to plans submitted to the county by engineering firm Preble-Rish, Phase II also involves the relocation of the existing bike path, creation of a 10-foot-wide utility corridor for underground electric lines and landscaped areas that will be maintained by nearby homeowners’ associations.
   
Billy McKee, the county’s environmental planning manager, said dark soil beneath the white sands has been excavated and piled along the shoulder of the road, but that it will be placed back beneath the boardwalk once the project is completed and replaced by the area’s trademark white sand.