Nestled 30 miles Southeast of Victoria, sits the small coastal town of Seadrift, TX. This charming community, which lies in the heart of San Antonio Bay, is known for its excellent fishing and crabbing along the coast.  Seadrift relies heavily on its bayfront, not only for recreational and commercial purposes, but as a safeguard for the community as well.  In August of 2017 when Hurricane Harvey made landfall just 20 miles south of Seadrift, it had disastrous effects on the city’s bayfront infrastructure.

With the growing threat of rising sea levels and powerful storm surges always looming along the Gulf Coast, the city knew something must be done to repair the damaged infrastructure.  After six years of negotiations between the city, design teams and FEMA, they decided on a complete reconstruction of the seawall.

In April of 2023, through competitivity sealed bids, SR Trident, Inc. was selected for the reconstruction of the city’s seawall. Upon notice to proceed SR Trident began consulting with Seadrift’s Engineer of Record and the City Mayor to plan the sequencing of construction, any construction restraints the city may have, and the effects the construction would have on the city.

During the pre-planning process, SR Trident uncovered its first obstacle of the project. Due to the growing number of state-wide infrastructure projects which were underway, we learned the precast panels and deadmans would be delayed. After discussions within the SR Trident project team and project engineers, in order to prevent further extended delays to the owner, SR Trident pivoted to the notion of pre-casting the concrete sheet piles and deadmans – at location. Of the 630 – 6’x20’ panels needed to complete the project, SR Trident cast all of them onsite.  In addition to the panels, SR Trident constructed 197 deadman which measured 6’x6’, while utilizing 165 tons of epoxy-coated rebar. SR Trident’s ability to adapt to the ever-changing supply chain demands and delays allowed the project to keep to the original schedule.

During construction SR Trident was met with many challenges when attempting to drive sheet piles into the bay’s floor.  One doesn’t have to imagine that after a devastating storm like Harvey, there would be plenty of debris to remove from the work area.  Some of the debris SR Trident removed included bathtubs, pieces of wooden docks which were washed away and even an entire car was submerged in the work area!

These obstacles proved minimal in comparison to the sheer nature of South Texas weather.  SR Trident encountered multiple major weather events, including but not limited to Tropical Storm Alberto and Hurricane Beryl.  These storms brought rainfall, tropical storm force winds and storm surge; all of which wreaked havoc on the jobsite, as well as the city of Seadrift.  These intense storms caused delays in multiple facets of the construction.  With these delays, SR Trident saw an opportunity to give back to the community and used its resources and manpower to assist the citizens of Seadrift with cleanup efforts.  Although delays out of SR Trident’s control became a regular occurrence, with proactive planning and close collaboration with the Engineer of Record, SR Trident was able to mitigate and keep the impacted overall schedule affects to a minimum.

Throughout the duration of the project SR Trident maintained less than 1% rework percentage, which is a credit to our extensive Quality Control Program. From the preconstruction phasing, to the high quality of our craft men and women, our quality group had extensive meetings and discussions about material types, surveying controls, installation methods and overall workmanship. These meetings, coupled with their hundreds of site visits, regular audits on blow counts, elevation checks, compaction testing, and concrete testing throughout, allowed SR Trident to correct mistakes, often before they occurred. Having such a dedicated and extensive quality team allowed the project to mitigate rework and ultimately lead to a smooth construction process.

As a result of the hard work and dedication by the Quality Team, SR Trident was able to utilize innovative technology to ensure high quality was delivered at an expedited productivity level.  Utilizing Real-Time Kinematic GPS (RTIK) SR Trident was able to build construction models and provide level positioning data, delivered via satellite, for precise accuracy within inches of tolerance. This data was then uploaded to the onsite dozers and excavators for the earthwork and armor stone placement along the water’s edge.

With the reconstruction of the seawall in Seadrift, TX the people, the fishing community and general outdoor enthusiasts will be able to enjoy the revamped area to its fullest extent.  The completion of this project marks an important milestone, not only for the citizens and local government of Seadrift, but for the federal government’s efforts in Hurricane Harvey relief.

Whether an individual wants to take in a sunrise or sunset with a walk along the new concrete paths, tie up a fishing vessel or wet a line, they can do so in knowing the seawall has been constructed to the highest standards and will serve as vital defense against future storm surge and erosion for generations to come.  As a native, local contractor to the Gulf Coast, SR Trident, Inc. is proud to have been part of such a necessary and iconic project.