PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Their technical name is Wave Attenuation Device or WAD, but to most, they look like big concrete pyramids.
For the next few days, the Florida Department of Transportation is lowering the WADs into the water near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, right by the access road to the south-end fishing pier.
They are designed to stop erosion to the shoreline.
“Certainly, having witnessed the devastation firsthand from Hurricane Ian down south, we think this project is going to do wonders for this area in terms of protecting the shoreline and really making this area resilient to future storm events and protecting I-275 and making sure that it has access immediately after storm events,” said FDOT engineer Brent Setchell.
Some of these pyramids are more than 10 feet tall, weighing about 13,000 pounds. There will be about 1,000 of them placed in these waters.
“The combination between the triangular shape as well as the holes that are lined with them and the angle that they are on, it really does a great job of deflecting the wave energy,” said Setchell.
FDOT also said there are added benefits from these pyramids, like creating a natural barrier reef that allows marine life to flourish.
Eventually, eight acres of seagrass are expected to grow here too.
“They provide nursery habitats for a lot of marine life the Florida manatee, snook, sea bass and then they provide food and shelter for these animals as well,” said Nicole Monies, FDOT’s District Environmental Permits Coordinator.
FODT said they welcome fishermen to park their boats near the pyramids and eventually, it should be a great spot for snorkeling.
