SF Marina Dock Array Installed in Jacksonville

The City of Jacksonville, Florida has the largest urban park system in the US. Enhancing its dynamic network of outdoor community spaces, the city is adding numerous docks along the St. Johns River for visiting boaters and water taxis. The new Post Street location in the historic Riverside neighborhood presented several engineering challenges that were overcome with a SF Marina floating concrete dock array.

The Post Street boat landing site is impacted by fast-moving river currents and strong southerly wave action. With the location being directly adjacent to underground utilities, the city specified that it would need to withstand 120 mph winds for two hours with 10 foot storm surges.

Jacksonville-based Hal Jones Contractor, a division of Vecellio & Grogan, Inc., installed the two-part 95′ L x 10′ W SF1230 HD pontoon and three SF1224 32′ L x 8′ W fingers. The sections were joined together using SF Marina’s connector system that absorbs torsional tension and heavy loading. The array is designed to accommodate six vessels up to 50′ in length.

To secure the structure, Hal Jones Contractor drove eight 20″ steel piles over 40′ deep into the rocky river bottom to safeguard against the array moving and damaging the utility lines. Custom guides allow the pontoons to rise and fall smoothly with water level changes.

Engineered with strength for heavy commercial use, 1200-series SF Marina floating concrete pontoons have substantial mass and weight. Combined with a wave-dampening design, this makes them exceptionally stable. The dock array connects to the shoreline via a 42′ L x 4′ W aluminum bridge and 36′ L x 4′ W hinged gangway.

Concrete pontoons for the structure were manufactured in SF Marina’s Norfolk, Virginia facility and trucked to Jacksonville. The Post Street project was the first SF Marina system installed by Hal Jones Contractor.