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REUBIN UD. ASKEW
<br />GOVERNOR
<br />STATE OF FLORIDA
<br />DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION
<br />2562 EXECUTIVE CENTER CIRCLE, EAST
<br />MONTGOMERY BUILDING
<br />TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32301
<br />November 19, 1976
<br />JOSEPH W. LANDERS, JR.
<br />SECRETARY
<br />Indian River Board of County
<br />CommissionersA14 V 1976
<br />'
<br />_Q'
<br />County Courthouse '�
<br />Vero Beach, Florida 32960
<br />CBOARD CO:.,
<br />Gentlemen:j. OfddfISS10(yERS
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<br />File No. 31-37-3706, Indian River County �Q; 6 g
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<br />D.O.T., State Road 60 Bridges
<br />Our staff has performed a biological survey for this proposal and offers
<br />the following comments:
<br />The Department of Transportation proposes to replace five existing
<br />bridges with pipe culverts, and to replace one other existing
<br />bridge with a longer span, along the portion of SR 60 located
<br />- within the St. Johns Marsh. The proposed culvert installations
<br />would reduce the drainage area at each site to 18.84 square feet.
<br />The proposed bridge replacement at Site 3 would enlarge the drainage
<br />area at that point from the existing 189.1 square feet (mean depth
<br />.3.1 feet) to approximately 700 square feet (mean depth approximately
<br />5 feet). In addition, the Depar•tmc.t of Transportation proposes to
<br />construct temporary by-pass roads at each of the six sites, utilizing
<br />48,044 cubic yards of temporary fill; 5,295 cubic yards of permanent
<br />waterward fill are also proposed; and 6,355 cubic yards are to be
<br />removed at Site 3.
<br />In the vicinity of the St. Johns Marsh, SR 60 consists of a 16 -mile
<br />long causeway with canals along both sides of the road. The causeway
<br />has several bridges along its length, but only six are within the
<br />remaining "unaltered" marsh. The marsh is primarily cattail,
<br />elderberry, and primrose willow, with varying amounts at each site
<br />of groundsel bush, three -square, wax myrtle, sawgrass, pond cypress,
<br />maidencane, paragrass, red maple, sand cordgrass, and Panicum
<br />grasses. The marsh is also criscrossed with many ditches and
<br />canals which are -vegetated by duckweed, water hyacinths, Panicum
<br />grasses, pickerelweed and pennywort. Samples within the water
<br />column and submerged vegetation yielded flagfish, mosquitofish,
<br />Everglades pigmy sunfish, grass shrimp, amphipods, creeping water
<br />bug, water scorpion, bluefin killifish, dragonfly nymphs, spotted
<br />gar, rainwater killifish, crane fly larvae, damselfly larvae, and
<br />salamanders. The subject marsh comprises the headwaters of the St.
<br />Johns River and feeds directly into Blue Cypress Lake.
<br />The canal under the Site 1 bridge averages 3 feet in depth and the
<br />surface is completely covered by water hyacinths and duckweed. The
<br />bottoms in the vicinity of the bridge are muck/sand (with some rock
<br />and asphalt), and support leeches and orb snails. Redwing blackbirds
<br />and a cottonmouth water moccasin were observed at Site 1.
<br />The channel under the Site 2 bridge averages 3.1 feet in depth and,
<br />along with adjacent canals, is vegetated by spadderdock, duckweed,
<br />and water hyacinth. Bottoms are generally sand/mud with some rock
<br />and support orb snails and crayfish.
<br />The canal at the Site 3 bridge contains a healthy bed of common
<br />three -square, as well as water hyssop, duckweed, and water hyacinth. .
<br />Bottoms are mud/sand, with some asphalt near the bridge, and support
<br />apple snails, pond snails, orb snails, end leeches.
<br />DEC 1976 k 7
<br />; $
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