US FUSION completes 55-panel scour protection job on Fort Lauderdale’s New River

US FUSION & Specialty Construction finished installing 55 Synthetex AB400 articulating block mattress panels across three Fort Lauderdale bridge crossings on the New River. The work had to withstand tidal currents, yacht traffic and environmental limits while keeping the waterway open.

Why it matters: - The New River project protected bridge foundations on one of South Florida’s busiest tidal boating corridors. - The installation had to be completed without shutting down yacht traffic through Fort Lauderdale’s marina access route. - The scope also required coordination around manatee protection rules and multiple public and private stakeholders.

What happened: - US FUSION & Specialty Construction completed installation of an Articulating Block Mattress scour protection system on Fort Lauderdale’s New River. - The project used 55 Synthetex AB400 panels across three bridge crossings. - Work covered the SE 3rd Avenue Bridge, the Andrews Avenue Bridge, and the SW 4th/7th Avenue Bridges in Broward County, Florida. - The company is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and also operates from La Porte, Texas.

The details: - US FUSION installed 17 panels at the SE 3rd Avenue Bridge, 22 panels at the Andrews Avenue Bridge, and 16 panels at the SW 4th/7th Avenue Bridge. - Crews customized ABM fabric bags on site before placement. - Teams positioned and zip-connected panels around existing bridge piles. - Crews pumped concrete grout into the panels through 8-inch filling sleeves. - Workers hand-packed grout around piling connections. - Teams jetted anchor trenches on the upstream and downstream sides of each panel run. - The dive team included one diver supervisor and five diver mechanics, with up to two divers in the water at a time. - Field crews removed debris from the river bottom and leveled the substrate before installation. - The project lead re-verified bridge dimensions against original survey data and modified panels where field conditions differed. - Crews measured tidal current speeds up to 6 mph. - US FUSION adjusted installation methods, panel layouts and sequencing to match tide times and lunar phase. - The team set installation direction based on the incoming tide, which ran stronger than the outgoing tide. - The dive supervisor and project lead maintained continuous marine-radio contact with bridge operators during active work. - At peak periods, the team coordinated across up to three radio channels and a cell phone. - Crews coordinated grout deliveries from the batch plant to keep filling operations aligned with pumping pace. - Dustin Miller, president of US FUSION & Specialty Construction, said the project showed the company’s experience in complex marine environments and underwater FFC applications.

Between the lines: - The job appears to have been as much an operations test as a construction project. - High current, live boat traffic and dense urban access likely made field execution more complex than standard marine erosion-control work. - The need to adapt after mobilization suggests the original survey data did not fully capture on-the-ground conditions. - The project also shows how marine construction can hinge on coordination as much as technical installation.

What's next: - US FUSION is likely to continue pursuing marine, geosynthetic and erosion-control work across the Gulf Coast and Southeast. - The company also markets related services in primary and secondary containment liner systems, HDPE and specialty plastics piping, and Fabric-Formed Concrete installation. - More information is available in the company’s announcement and on LinkedIn.

The bottom line: - US FUSION finished a technically demanding scour-protection installation that kept Fort Lauderdale’s New River open while protecting bridge infrastructure from tidal flow and marine traffic.