S-65E Emergency Steel Sheet Pile Weir Water Control Structure
Taylor Engineering developed an emergency solution for low water levels in Lake Okeechobee. The lack of water depth created forces capable of undermining S-65E, the water control structure located at the southern end of the Kissimmee River. Such a condition could have caused structural failure and triggered severe flooding to upstream and downstream residential and agricultural properties.
Taylor Engineering, its subconsultant Hartman Engineering, the SFWMD, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked in concert to conceive a downstream structure — a low-elevation sheet pile weir — to reduce the Kissimmee River’s channel width and allow S-65E to discharge as designed.
An aggressive design, hydraulic and structural analysis, construction document preparation, and bidding schedule allowed only two and a half months from Taylor Engineering’s notice to proceed to start of construction, and four months to complete construction — a seemingly impossible task given this type of project would normally take 24 months to design and build. The project included development of design alternatives, hydraulic design, structural design, development of construction drawings and specifications, construction observation/engineering services, and permit support.
Two weeks after project completion, Tropical Storm Fay hit Florida. The storm produced record level flows that could have caused catastrophic damages to the counties surrounding Lake Okeechobee. For its accelerated response, Taylor Engineering received one of the “2009 Grand Engineering Excellence Awards” from the Florida Institute of Consulting Engineers.