Rubble Mound Breakwaters
Oral
Taylor Nordstrom, PE
Civil / Coastal Engineer
AECOM
Chris Levitz, PE
Coastal Engineer
AECOM
This presentation focuses on an innovative breakwater design in Galveston Bay, Texas that provides shoreline stabilization for the rapidly eroding bay shoreline while maintaining site aesthetics, minimizing cost, and increasing ecological benefits to wetlands and uplands. The project consists of more than a mile of nearshore, limestone breakwaters with tops that “undulate” from a high crest elevation to a low crest elevation, rather than having a uniform elevation throughout. The project was constructed in fall 2016 and is undergoing a multi-year monitoring program to measure project performance as it protects one of the last frontiers of native Texas coastal prairie.