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Advisory committee backs option to replace failing promenade platform; city council to decide
Summary
A waterfront advisory committee voted 6-0 to recommend replacing and modernizing the promenade's relieving platform, raising it 18 inches for flood control; the recommendation goes to city council, which may consider it May 26. A consultant said replacement is likely the most permit-friendly option; a definitive cost was not specified.
A waterfront park advisory committee has unanimously recommended that the city pursue “option two,” which would replace and modernize the failing relieving platform beneath Beaufort’s promenade while keeping the promenade’s current look and layout, the program reported.
City councilman Josh Gallay, who serves on the waterfront advisory committee, said the recommendation “gets it moving to the next step.” The committee voted 6-0 to forward the endorsement to city council, which will make the final decision and may discuss the matter at a May 26 meeting.
The city’s engineering consultant, Bill Barna of Charleston-based McSweeney Engineers, told committee members that building a new relieving platform would be the most affordable alternative and the easiest to get permitted from regulatory agencies. “That’s really what I think is the preferred option in terms of value,” Barna said. Committee Chairman Joe Oliver supported the recommendation but cautioned that members still do not know what the full cost will be.
The recommended design would raise the platform by about 18 inches to improve flood control and use contemporary materials intended to extend the structure’s lifespan; the advisory report described a projected lifespan of roughly 75 years. The committee compared three alternatives, including one that would extend a walkway into the river with amenities such as a splash pad, and another that would build a seawall with solid fill foundations.
If city council approves the recommendation, staff will begin work on developing an engineering and design proposal to be advertised for further approvals and contracting. The engineering consultant has previously said the waterfront work could be “in the neighborhood of $30” but the transcript cuts off at that point and no definitive total cost was specified.
The committee’s endorsement does not itself authorize construction; council approval and subsequent design, permitting and contracting steps are required before work could begin.
