Submerged bridge pilings a hidden hazard

The construction company that built St. George Island bridge is expected to return to the county this week to remove hidden pilings that commercial fishermen say have damaged several of their boats.

When Boh Brothers, New Orleans's largest construction firm, built the new Bryant Grady Patton Bridge to St. George Island in 2004, under a state contract worth more than $70 million, they were also tasked with removing the old one, all but the two fishing piers left on either end.

The job called for removing the upper portion of the piers supporting the central portion of the old bridge and remove all debris.

But fishermen say they didn't complete the job, after several of their boats were damaged by submerged pilings.

At the March 17 county commission meeting, oysterman Darren Turner, of Eastpoint, described a dangerous incident in which his boat nearly hit one of the pilings. He said that rebar from pilings was visible above the water at low tide.

Commissioner Smokey Parrish said if a commercial shrimping vessel struck the debris, "it could be an environmental disaster."

At that meeting, the commission voted to write a letter to the Florida Department of Transportation asking them to instruct Boh Brothers to remove the rest of the debris from the old bridge.

In a telephone interview this week, Commissioner Bevin Putnal said he did not believe the pilings were actually in the channel, but were positioned immediately to the north and south of it.

"They (Boh Brothers) were supposed to remove all of the debris from the old bridge. I believe they decided it was easier to cut them off. We've been trying for three years to get them removed," he said. "I talk to boys every day who run into it. One knocked a hole in his oyster boat and had to shove an oyster sack in it just to make it in to shore. Sooner or later somebody's going to get hurt."

Steve Binak, of the Florida Department of Transportation, said DOT placed buoys on two known piers. He said the DOT had written to Boh Brothers ordering them to remove the debris.

Binak said Boh Brothers told DOT it had hired a marine construction firm to solve the problem. A spokesman for Boh Brothers declined to comment on the marine construction firm.

An Eastpoint boat sales and repair firm said Seaward Construction of Norfolk, Virginia had contacted them seeking to rent a barge to use to remove the pilings.

A spokesman for Seaward Construction refused to comment on whether his firm had been hired to do the work.

The repairs will come too late for some boaters.

Jeff Warren, of Wefings Marine Supply, said he had seen two boats damaged by the pilings. One watercraft, a 20-foot Scout, had a draft of only 18 inches.

Shrimper Bobby Buffkin, of Carrabelle, hit a piling Saturday evening. It sheared off a blade on the propeller and shattered the stuffing box of his boat, the Tressie and Chance, named for his children.

"I come from a long line of fishermen and it's getting harder and harder to make a living," he said. "Things like this sure don't help. I've been running that channel for 25 or 30 years and never had trouble until they put in that new bridge.

"My boat only draws 4 feet of water. I was supposed to be in 15 feet of water. I almost sunk. If my bilge alarm hadn't gone off, I would have lost everything. I had to keep three pumps running overnight to keep it afloat. I had to have my crew sleep on it," he said.

"I was about in tears. I'm feeding three families off of this boat," he said.

Buffkin was able to save some money on repairs by buying a used propeller. He said David Allen, of Dockside Marina, had waived the customary $300 charge to take his boat out of the water.

"If it hadn't been for the grace of this man, I would be out of business," said Buffkin. "He pulled it out for a mess of shrimp."

Allen said he knew of at least six boats damaged by the pilings. "The state didn't enforce the contract and the contractor didn't do the job. This is property damage, but if somebody hits one in the middle of the night, people could drown," he said.

Tommie Speights, DOT spokesman for District 3, said Boh Brothers will be working to remove the two marked pilings this week.

"Then we (DOT) are going to go in looking for more pilings and mark them, to be removed at a later date," he said.