Miami-Dade County · Waterfront
Docks, Seawalls & Dredging in Miami, FL
Miami sits on Biscayne Bay, Miami River and Little River, with waterfront homes in Coconut Grove, Brickell and Edgewater. Langley Coastal builds and repairs docks and pilings, installs boat and PWC lifts, repairs seawalls and performs dredging for property owners in Miami. Permitting is handled in full.
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Services in Miami
Every service below has its own page. Five of them have one written for Miami.
Dock Construction
New docks, complete tear-outs and rebuilds, and worn deck boards replaced.
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Piling Services
Pilings restored where they can be, replaced where they cannot, under a dock, a lift or a boathouse.
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Seawall Construction
Aging walls removed and replaced, designed with licensed engineers.
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Seawall Repair
Inspection with photo and video, then hydraulic cement, forms and rebar, or foam injection.
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Boat Lift Installation
Fitted on a new dock or one you already have, working with the lift manufacturers.
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Boat Lift Maintenance
Cables, drives and lift pilings kept working in salt water.
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Dredging
Depth restored at docks, canals and shorelines. We handle the permitting.
Explore dredging in MiamiGeneral Construction
The land side of a waterfront property: building, demolition, sitework and pools.
Explore general construction in MiamiMiami's waterfront
What shapes dock, seawall, and dredging work here. Sources are linked.
Waterways
- Biscayne Bay: the main city shoreline; the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve covers its state-owned bottom [en.wikipedia.org]
- Miami River: 5.5-mile working river from the Miami Canal to the bay; Idle Speed / No Wake from the salinity structures to the ICW; the city's highest manatee-count area [en.wikipedia.org]
- Little River: idle speed year-round west of the bay shoreline, with a No Entry zone Nov 15-Apr 30 west of the US-1 bridge [law.cornell.edu]
- Government Cut: deepened from 42 ft to 50 ft for PortMiami (targeted completion July 2015) [en.wikipedia.org]
Waterfront neighborhoods
- Coconut Grove: eastern edge on the bay; roughly ZIP 33133 [en.wikipedia.org]
- Brickell: south of the Miami River, part of Greater Downtown [en.wikipedia.org]
- Edgewater: eastern boundary is Biscayne Bay [en.wikipedia.org]
- Venetian Islands (Miami side): Biscayne Island and San Marco Island are the City of Miami's Venetian Islands [en.wikipedia.org]
Marinas, bridges and inlets
- Dinner Key Marina: 3400 Pan American Dr: 587 wet slips (30-135 ft) and 250+ moorings; city-run [miami.gov]
- Rickenbacker Marina: 3301 Rickenbacker Cswy on Virginia Key; wet and dry storage since 1983 [rmimarina.com]
- Public ramps: city ramps: Seminole (Dinner Key), Watson Island, Marine Stadium, Legion Park, Morningside Park, Curtis Park (MPP Table 1) [miamidade.gov]
Permits and rules in Miami
Rules change; confirm current Miami requirements with the authority before work starts.
Miami-Dade County permit authorities that cover Miami →
- Seawall rule (City of Miami Dept. of Resilience and Public Works / Building (Code Ch. 29 Art. III, Sec. 54-46); Miami-Dade DERM Class I)
- City Code Ch. 29 Art. III (Bulkheads, Seawalls, Living Shorelines) as amended by the 2020 ordinance (File 7338): new and reconstructed seawalls, bulkheads and living shorelines in tidally influenced areas must be built to a minimum 6 ft NAVD88 and designed so they can be raised to 8 ft NAVD88; properties fronting the Miami River follow Sec. 54-46 (4.0 ft NAVD88, raisable at least 2 ft). [miami.gov]
- Dock and boat-lift permits
- City of Miami Building Department (Ch. 29 waterfront improvement permit) + Miami-Dade DERM Class I + FDEP / USACE. City Code Sec. 29-83 requires a city permit for waterfront improvements with plans on NAD 83/NAVD 88 datums. [miami.gov]
- Dredging permits
- Miami-Dade DERM Class I + FDEP + USACE Jacksonville District. Maintenance dredging of an existing man-made canal is exempt from a state ERP under F.S. 403.813(1)(f) only if spoil goes to a self-contained upland site; DERM treats maintenance dredging with upland disposal as a short-form Class I permit. [miamidade.gov]
Local conditions that matter
Tides, storms and siltation
- Hurricane Irma (2017) pushed 3-5 ft of inundation along the bay shoreline from Homestead to downtown/Brickell, 1-2 blocks inland, with isolated spots over 6 ft in Coconut Grove and Brickell; 2-3 ft north of downtown [weather.gov]
- King tides occur September-November, each peak lasting about 3 hours, and cause sunny-day street flooding near waterways and in low inland pockets; the city takes reports at 311 [miami.gov]
- Manatees feed in winter on seagrass between the Port of Miami and Rickenbacker Causeway and along the mainland south to the Coral Gables Waterway (MPP pp.44-45) [miamidade.gov]
- Everglades drainage and dredging let salt water push up the Miami River until dams were placed on its feeder canals in the 1940s [en.wikipedia.org]
On the water
- FAC 68C-22.025: the Miami River Area (all river waters southeast of SR 953, plus Palmer Lake, South Fork and Seybold Canal) is idle speed year-round; county Code sec. [law.cornell.edu]
- Slow speed zones under 68C-22.025 cover the MacArthur Causeway-to-Miami River area (including Government Cut's bay side) and Norris Cut; the Key Biscayne Area zone covers waters within 1,000 ft of Virginia Key's southwest shore [law.cornell.edu]
- The county manatee plan prefers marina expansion at Dinner Key and Matheson Hammock and rates the Coconut Grove shoreline from Dinner Key south to the Coral Gables Waterway as not suitable for new marina slips (MPP pp.67-68) [miamidade.gov]
Recent Dock Work
Miami — frequently asked questions
What seawall height rule applies in Miami?
City Code Ch. 29 Art. III (Bulkheads, Seawalls, Living Shorelines) as amended by the 2020 ordinance (File 7338): new and reconstructed seawalls, bulkheads and living shorelines in tidally influenced areas must be built to a minimum 6 ft NAVD88 and designed so they can be raised to 8 ft NAVD88; properties fronting the Miami River follow Sec. 54-46 (4.0 ft NAVD88, raisable at least 2 ft). (City of Miami Dept. of Resilience and Public Works / Building (Code Ch. 29 Art. III, Sec. 54-46); Miami-Dade DERM Class I). An inspection of your Miami seawall, with underwater photos and video, shows whether a repair or a rebuild is the right route. [source]
Who permits a new dock or boat lift in Miami?
City of Miami Building Department (Ch. 29 waterfront improvement permit) + Miami-Dade DERM Class I + FDEP / USACE. City Code Sec. 29-83 requires a city permit for waterfront improvements with plans on NAD 83/NAVD 88 datums. [source]
Do I need a permit to dredge my canal in Miami?
Miami-Dade DERM Class I + FDEP + USACE Jacksonville District. Maintenance dredging of an existing man-made canal is exempt from a state ERP under F.S. Langley handles that permitting for Miami dredging projects. [source]
Which Miami neighborhoods do you serve?
Waterfront neighborhoods across Miami, including Coconut Grove, Brickell, Edgewater and Venetian Islands (Miami side) (ZIP 33129, 33131, 33133, 33137). Miami is in Miami-Dade County, one of the four counties Langley Coastal serves.
Are there speed or manatee zones near Miami docks?
FAC 68C-22.025: the Miami River Area (all river waters southeast of SR 953, plus Palmer Lake, South Fork and Seybold Canal) is idle speed year-round; county Code sec. That sets how a dredge or barge is scheduled and staged in Miami. [source]
Does Langley Coastal Construction work in Miami?
Yes. Miami is in Miami-Dade County, one of the four counties Langley Coastal Construction serves; call (954) 406-0696 to schedule Miami work.
Sources for the Miami facts above are linked inline (23 public pages); they describe Miami, not Langley projects, and rules change, so confirm with the permitting authority.
Nearby Waterfront Areas We Serve
What Miami area customers say
Quality work that was completed ahead of schedule. We were pleased with their consistent communication throughout the project and the ability to meet deadlines and solve complex problems. Their focus on safety and quality was evident.