Abstract:
A walkway including: a foundation base at least partially embedded in ground adjacent to a body of water; first and second supports, at least the first support being connected to the foundation base; a plank having a surface for use by pedestrians to travel along a shoreline, the plank having a first end rotatably connected to the first support and having a second end supported on the second support, the surface being exposed for use by the pedestrians when the plank is in a first position where the second end is supported by the second support, the plank having a length between the first and second supports; and a lifting mechanism operatively connected to the plank to rotate the plank from the first position to a second position where the length of the plank is oriented in a first direction to impede a rising height of the body of water.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/268,469 filed on Dec. 16, 2015, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by its reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates generally to boardwalks used as pedestrian walkway, service vehicles and the like along oceans, lakes and rivers and the like, which can be readily turned into protective walls for flood control. 
         [0004]    2. Prior Art 
         [0005]    Boardwalks are constructed close to shore in many areas to provide pedestrians a walkway overlooking beaches. The boardwalks are also sometimes used by relatively light service vehicles, food carts, and the like. 
         [0006]    Boardwalks are very popular with residents and visitors during good weather and particularly during summer times. Current boardwalks are constructed as a single purpose structure, namely to serve as a walkway for sightseeing, enjoying the weather, doing exercise, and the like, without having to encounter sand, dirt or mud or a rough terrain. Current boardwalks are also prone to damage from wind, hurricanes and flooding. 
         [0007]    Boardwalks close to the shores are generally constructed by assembling planks made out of wood or synthetic materials over a constructed frame structure. In a typical plank deck assembly, decking planks are mounted to a deck frame in uniformly spaced apart relationship to allow surface water or rain to pass through the deck as well as to aid in ventilation. The spacing selected for use between the deck planks may vary depending on the type of materials used in construction as well as anticipated environmental conditions. Deck builders employ various implements to maintain uniformity in deck plank spacing, including wooden spacers, nails or specially made jigs. Some boardwalks are prevented from uplifting merely by their weight and some others are provided with certain anchoring foundation to resist wind and other natural uplifting forces. 
         [0008]    Currently, boardwalks close to the shores are generally constructed by assembling planks made out of wood or synthetic materials over a constructed frame structure. An example of such structures of prior art is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 8,522,505 and as shown in  FIG. 1 . In such a boardwalk system construction, a plurality of piles or supports  12  are positioned on the ground surface over which the boardwalk to be installed. Each pile  12  is used to support one or more horizontally-extending beams  14  thereon. Each support  12  rests on the ground surface and elevate the beams  14  to the desired position above the ground. If desired, the beams  14  can be coupled to the associated support(s)  12  by any of a wide variety of coupling devices or systems. Each beam  14  supports a plurality of generally horizontally extending planks  16 . This arrangement may however varied such that each plank  16  is supported by more than one beam  14 , or by only a single beam  14 , in which case the tread  16  may be supported at its other end by the earth or other structures. Generally, upper surface of each plank is flat and planar, and positioned relatively close to the upper surface of an associated plank  16  such that upper surfaces together define a generally smooth surface, usually with gaps between the planks  16 , which can be walked upon, ridden upon by small vehicles and the like, etc. To make the boardwalk system more strong, each plank  16  may be coupled to an adjacent plank  16  by, for example, a laterally-extending tongue  15  received in an associated groove  17  in the adjacent plank  16 . The supports  12 , beams  14  and planks  16  can be made from any of a wide variety of materials, including, but not limited to, wood, wood composite materials or other composite materials, concrete, or materials made entirely or primarily of concrete. Modular decking systems having some features similar to that shown in  FIG. 1  and described herein are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,084 to Millington et al. Each illustrated beam  14  may also include a plurality of pre-formed recesses  20  formed therein, formed in the outer surface thereof. Each beam  14 , in the schematic of  FIG. 1 , includes four recesses  20  along its length. Each beam recess  20  may then be aligned with an associated plank recess  18  to together cooperate to form an opening  22  which can receive a connector  24  therein. 
         [0009]    In almost all boardwalks, as discussed above, spacing is provided between the deck planks  16  depending on the type of materials used in construction as well as anticipated environmental conditions to allow for material expansion, to allow rain drainage as well as to provide for ventilation through the deck. 
         [0010]    During storms and hurricanes or in the case of a Tsunami, the coastal areas require protection from flooding. Sea level rise due to global warming is increasing the frequency of coastal flooding, particularly in low lying and flat beach areas. Flooding protection is also needed on many river banks and lake shores when the water rises, for example, during long periods of heavy rains or during sudden warming of the weather after heavy snows. 
         [0011]    Various types of barricades are used to protect coastal areas and floodplains from flooding. These are either permanent structures in the form of floodwalls, seawalls, dikes, and levees, or are temporary barricades such as sand bags or other portable barriers in various shapes, forms, and materials. 
         [0012]    Permanent flood protection structures create a physical and visual obstruction to and from the waterfront, which makes them infeasible in populated low lying and flat beach areas where flood protection is most needed. Temporary flood protection structures have limited application, long response time, and entail significant effort and cost for deployment and later removal. 
         [0013]    The construction of boardwalks as well as flood protection structures for coastal areas, lakeshores and riverbanks are costly. Flood protection is also usually needed only a few days in a year or even in a few years. It would therefore be highly advantageous if boardwalk structures could be designed such that they would double as flood protection structures. Such novel boardwalks must be capable of supporting the wind and wave and water loads when deployed as a flood protection structure. They should also be capable of being readily deployed and withstand the harsh and corrosive environment of seashore. 
         [0014]    It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that events such as hurricanes produce large waves, winds as well as high speed gusts. It is therefore important for the boardwalks to be capable of not only withstanding the generated waves, raised water levels and winds, but be also capable of withstanding gusts, which are sometimes significantly higher in speed than the wind levels. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    A need therefore exists for boardwalks that could double as flood protection structures, thereby providing the means for people to enjoy the seashores and riverbanks, while at the same time protecting the shores, residential areas and surrounding lands from flooding when the need arises. Such a boardwalk structure has the great advantage over any permanent structure since it would not create a permanent physical and visual obstruction to and from the waterfront. 
         [0016]    Such dual purpose boardwalks must be capable of withstanding the floodwater pressure, wave impact, wind and gusts that usually accompanies hurricanes when employed along the seashores. As a result, such dual purpose boardwalks must be capable of withstanding such events without requiring highly elaborate and costly moving and support structures. 
         [0017]    In addition, the design of such dual use boardwalks must be relatively simple, easy to operate, and be capable of being deployable manually since in situations such as during hurricanes or flooding there is no guarantee that there would be access to electrical power. Simple designs would also translates to lower cost of construction and installment, which would enables their widespread application, particularly considering the effects of global warming that has resulted in more frequent and stronger flooding conditions. 
         [0018]    A need therefore exists for boardwalks that could double as flood protection structures that are provided with novel mechanisms that allow their rapid and easy deployment. The deployment mechanisms are preferably capable of being operated manually as well as by externally powered actuation devices such as electrical motors and gears or hydraulic or pneumatic devices. 
         [0019]    A need therefore also exists for practical and cost effective means of flood protection that does not create a permanent physical and visual obstruction to and from the waterfront, has wide ranging application in flood protection, and does not entail significant effort and cost for deployment. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0020]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: 
           [0021]      FIG. 1  illustrates the construction of a typical boardwalk of the prior art that is currently being widely used with or without certain modifications. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  illustrates the schematic of the first embodiment of the dual use boardwalk that can be turned into a flood barrier of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  illustrates the schematic of a boardwalk raising gearing, mechanical coupling and input drive. 
           [0024]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrate the schematic of the method and means of closing the gap between the boardwalk of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  and its support wall after it is deployed as a flood barrier wall. 
           [0025]      FIG. 4C  illustrate the schematic of the method and means of closing the gap between the boardwalk planks while they are deployed as a flood barrier wall. 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  illustrates the schematic of an alternative design of the first embodiment of the dual use boardwalk of  FIG. 1  for increasing its resistance to the wind gust, wave and flood water once it is deployed as a flood barrier wall. 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  illustrates the first embodiment of the dual use boardwalk that can be turned into a flood barrier of  FIG. 2  with the boardwalk planks provided with wave reflecting surfaces. 
           [0028]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate the provision of high wind gust and/or wave splash safety gates provided to prevent damage to the flood wall of the embodiment of  FIG. 2  due to infrequently occurring and relatively short duration peak wind gusts and wave splashes. 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  illustrates the schematic of the embodiment of the dual use sidewalk that can be turned into a flood and object/debris impact barrier of the present invention. 
           [0030]      FIGS. 9, 9A and 9B  illustrate methods of providing the means of climbing the exterior surface of a sidewalk that has been deployed as flood and object/debris impact barrier for exiting or entering the protected building. 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  illustrates the boardwalk/flood-barrier that is deployed adjacent to a bulkhead along a waterway to protect communities from overflow during high water level and flooding events. The barrier may be constructed with the telescopic feature shown to achieve higher height when deployed. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0032]    A first embodiment of a dual use boardwalk that can be turned into a flood barrier of the present invention is described using the schematic of  FIG. 2 , generally referred to by reference numeral  30 . Although referred to herein as “boardwalks,” other types of walking surfaces, such as sidewalks and walkways are also applicable where such terms are used interchangedly to encompass all walking surfaces.  FIG. 2  shows the cross-sectional view of the embodiment  30  as installed at a beach or the like area. In  FIG. 2 , only the basic components of this embodiment is shown for the sake of clarity and other necessary and optional or variations of this basic embodiment is presented below. 
         [0033]    The embodiment  30  shown in  FIG. 2  consists of a foundation base  31 , which can be made out of reinforced concrete, which can be at least partially embedded in the beach (ground) area sand or soil  32 , close or certain distance from the water  35  or potential flood area. The foundation based  31  may be a continuous slab if needed considering the type and characteristic of the soil/sand, but can also be made out of interconnected concrete structures that would provide the required “lifting” resistance to counter the forces of flood water, wave and wind gusts that the attached flood barrier could be subjected to during a storm as is later described. Over the foundation base  31  are provided with a series of at least two rows of support stands  33  and  34 . At least the support stands  34 , and possibly both support stands  33 ,  34 , can also be made out of concrete with strong reinforcement and can be integrally formed with the structure and reinforcement elements of the foundation base  31 . In this embodiment, planks  36  are attached to the one row (preferably the outer row  34 ) supports via a hinge joint  37 . In the configuration shown with solid lines and indicated by the numeral  36 , the plants  36  rest against the opposite row (such as the row  33  closest to the water  35 ) of supports. In the configuration indicated by the numeral  42 , the planks  36  serve as a boardwalk, with a relatively smooth surface  38 , which can be walked upon, ridden upon by small vehicles and the like, etc. In this configuration, the top surface  38  of the planks  36  are can be sloped slightly downward in the direction of the water  35  to allow rain and other fluids such as those used to wash the surface to drain and not collect over the surface of the boardwalk. 
         [0034]    At the hinge  37 , the planks  36  are fixedly attached to the hinge shaft (not shown) which is in turn attached via a coupling and can include a gearing box  39  (to be described in more detail below) to an input shaft  40 . The hinge shaft ( 43  in  FIG. 3 ) can be welded to reinforcing steel structures that are embedded in the composite plank for strength purposes to enable the plank to withstand wind gust and flood water and wave pressure. The gearing box  39  is coupled to the aforementioned hinge shaft such that as the input shaft  40  is rotated by an external means, the hinge shaft is rotated to raise the plank  36  to its configuration indicated by the numeral  41 . As a result, the boardwalk (planks in the configuration  42 ) are turned into flood barriers that would protect the areas behind the boardwalk when the water  35  surges above its normal high levels. 
         [0035]    The planks  36  can be long (in the direction parallel to the beach, i.e., perpendicular to the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 2 ), for example 10-20 feet long, and made without any openings so that when deployed as a flood barrier configuration  41 , water cannot pass through the planks. The space between two adjacent planks can be very small, in which case sealing members can be provided as described below to prevent water from flowing through the gap between the planks. The planks may be constructed from many different light weight but strong and tough materials to resist impact type loading due to gusts and water splashes due to high waves. Such materials can include composite materials such as those containing recycled plastics with high strength fibers provided to provide high strength, particularly in bending due to water and wind pressure. 
         [0036]    A typical gearing mechanism  39  that can be used for raising the boardwalk planks from configuration  36  to their flood control configuration  41  is shown in the schematic of  FIG. 3 . In this embodiment, the shaft  43 , which is fixedly attached to the plank  36  is fixed to the continuously provided support stands (wall)  34  via at least two (or more) hinges  37 . The base of the hinges  37  can be attached to the support wall  34  through reinforcing structures provided in the concrete structure of the support wall  34  such that they could withstand the forces of the flood water, waves and wing gust. The mechanism for raising the boardwalk  36  to its flood wall configuration  41  consists of the gearing mechanism  40  ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ), which can comprise a worm gear type or the like mechanism. In such a type of gearing mechanism, the gear component  45  of the worm gear couple is fixedly attached to the shaft  43  for to affect its rotational motion during the raising process to its flood wall configuration  41  as well as during its lowering to its boardwalk configuration  36 . The worm element  46  is in turn attached to the output shaft  40  ( FIG. 2 ) directly or via a coupling element (not shown). The worm gear may also be provided with further reduction gearing (not shown) within the gear box as is well known in the art to further reduce the level of required input torque for its raising. The plank  36  may also be provided by counterweights (not shown) to further reduce the level of required raising torque. 
         [0037]    When the need arises, the operator (possibly a park ranger or the like) can bring a truck equipped with a high torque motor such as those commonly used in truck winches over the side  44  of the boardwalk  30  structure and connects the output shaft of the motor to the input shaft  40  of the gearing  39  by a drive shaft (which can be provided with double u-joints),  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The plank  36  is then raised to its flood protecting configuration  41  by the aforementioned high torque motor. It is also appreciated by those skilled in the art that by providing proper balancing counterweights and by providing a high enough gear ratio in the gear mechanism  39 , the operator would then be able to raise and lower the plank manually by engaging a driving wheel or handle to the input shaft  40  to achieve proper leveraging. It is also appreciated by those skilled in the art that gearing system  39  may also be directly coupled to electrical motors (not shown) which are turned on by the operator (remotely if desired) to similarly raise and lower the planks. 
         [0038]    Once the boardwalk planks  36  have been raised to the configuration  41 , the gap between the plank  36  and the support wall  34  is closed and sealed by the provided relatively elastic member  47 ,  FIG. 4A , which can be constructed with salt and water resistant and relatively hard synthetic elastomeric materials. The elastic member  47  can be shaped so that it deforms to close the aforementioned gap while elastically deformed as the planks  36  are raised, preferably as shown in the schematic of  FIG. 4B  or the like. During raising of the planks  36 , the elastic member can be wedged against a curved top surface of the support wall  34 , so that the water pressure would tend to further increase its resistance in closing the gap. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that there are many other methods and means known in the art for closing the gap between the plank  36  and the support wall  34  and sealing it. The aforementioned method and means illustrated in the schematics of  FIGS. 4A and 4B  is not intended to exclude any other method and means known in the art. 
         [0039]    Any gap between boardwalk planks  36  can be similarly closed using shaped elastic members as shown in the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4C . Once the boardwalk planks  36  have been raised to the configuration  41 ,  FIG. 2 , the gaps between the planks  36  are also closed and sealed by the provided relatively elastic member  49  (similar to  47  in  FIG. 4A ), can be constructed with salt and water resistant and relatively hard synthetic elastomeric materials. The elastic member  49  can be shaped so that as an adjacent plank  36  is raised, it deforms to tightly close the gap between the planks. The elastic member  49  can be shaped to wedge against the curved surface  58  of the side extension  59  provided on the side of a mating plank as shown in  FIG. 4C . As a result, water pressure would tend to further increase the resistance of the sealing effect of the elastic member  49 . It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that there are many other methods and means known in the art for closing the gap between the planks  36 . The aforementioned method and means illustrated in the schematic of  FIG. 4C  is not intended to exclude any other method and means known in the art. 
         [0040]    An alternative embodiment of the first embodiment  30  ( FIG. 2 ) is shown in the schematic of  FIG. 5  and generally referred to by reference numeral  50 . The embodiment  50  is intended to provide additional support to the planks  36  while it is deployed to its configuration  41  to serve as a flood barrier. Such additional structural supports are best designed to support the deployed planks  36  in bending (backward) against the forces of waves and flood water and wind gust against both sides of the plank panels. One such support structure may consist of at least one telescopic support member  52 , which is attached to an additional support structure  51  via a hinge joint  53  on one end and to the plank  36  via another hinge joint  54  on the other end. The support member  52  is constructed by two telescopically mating, such as box-type, members in which one can ride inside (or against) the other. As a result, the support member  52  can accommodate the increase in its length (from the joint  53  to the joint  54 ) as the plank  36  is moved down from its configuration  41  to its boardwalk configuration  42 . The plank  36  is provided with a groove to accommodate the support member  52  while serving as a boardwalk keeping the upper surface of the support member  52  flush with the upper surface  38  of the plank  36 . The telescopic support member  52  is provided with a stop so that as the plank  36  reaches its flood barrier configuration  41 , the inner portion of the telescopic support member bottoms out and the support member can fully support high compressive loads. The telescopic support member  52  may also be provided with locking members (not shown) that are either provided by the system operation—for example by inserting locking pins to lock the two members of the support member  52  together or may be provided with spring loaded locking pins that are automatically engaged upon deployment of the planks as flood barriers. It is appreciated that such locking mechanism are desired to be provided so that after the planks are deployed to their configuration  41  and before any flood water has risen to apply pressure onto the plank surfaces, the planks  36  may be subjected to wind gusts from either side, which requires the planks  36  to be supported against being forced in the direction of it boardwalk configuration  42 . 
         [0041]    Similar to the support wall  34  and support stands  33 , the support structure  51  can also be made out of concrete with strong reinforcement and can also be formed integrally with the structure and reinforcement elements of the foundation base  31 . 
         [0042]    It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that in general more than one such support member  52  is desired to be used for each plank  36 , such as one every few feet, and that they have to be sized to support the maximum flood water, wave and wind gust forces. It is also appreciated that many other types of support members known in the art may also be used instead of the present telescopic member. In general, such supports are desired to be self-deployable, but may also be deployable by the system operator. In addition, multiple types of such supports, some relatively rigid such as the support member  52 , and some made out of cables  57  (shown with a dashed line) attached to the support  33  on one end and to the bottom side of the plank on the other end, may also be used. Such support cables are intended to support the deployed plank in tension, and as such needs to be tightly set once the plank is deployed to its configuration  41 . 
         [0043]    In its boardwalk configuration  42  illustrated in  FIG. 5  the support member  52  will be exposed between the support wall  34  and the supports  51 . In one alternative embodiment, plank members  56 , which are similar to the planks  36 , are used to bridge the distance between the supports  34  and  51 . Here again gaps are provided in the plank  56  to accommodate the support member  52 , as was previously described for the plank  36 . As a result, the gap between the supports  34  and  51  is covered and the total width of the boardwalk is also increased. 
         [0044]    In the embodiments of  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the bottom surfaces of the planks  36  (the flood water facing of the deployed flood wall) are shown to be flat. In an alternative embodiment of the dual use boardwalk that can be turned into a flood barrier, a flood water facing surface of the flood wall, i.e., the bottom surface of the planks  36 , can be provided with curved surfaces  60 . The surface  60  can be integrally formed with the planks  36 , but may also be constructed by frontal curved plates  61  using salt and water resistance materials such as those used in the construction of the planks  36  themselves and are connected by connecting members  62  to the bottom surface of the planks  36 . Then when the planks  36  are raised from their boardwalk configuration  42  to their flood wall configuration  41  as shown in  FIG. 6 , the curved surfaces  60  (drawn by dashed line in the flood wall configuration  41  and indicated by the numeral  63 ) face the flood water and incoming waves. The curved surfaces  63  can then reflect the incoming waves back away from the flood wall, thereby minimizing the flow of splashing wave water over the flood wall to the protected side of the wall. 
         [0045]    In many strong storm and/or hurricane conditions, sudden high speed wind gusts or high waves may occur several times over relatively long periods of time. Since such events occur a limited number of times over the course of a strong storm and/or hurricane conditions, instead of building very tall and very strong flood walls that could withstand relatively short duration and infrequently occurring peak gust speeds and wave splashes at relatively high costs, a more flexible embodiment shown in the schematic of  FIGS. 7A and 7B  may be employed. In this embodiment, safety gates  66  are provided that would open up when they experience pressures above certain threshold to let the wind gust and/or wave water through the flood wall for a very short period of time until the imparted pressures subsides. It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that in almost all strong storms and hurricanes, such very high peak wind gusts and wave splashes occur very infrequently, and thereby the resulting infrequent and short duration passing of wind gusts and very limited amount of passage of flood water will have minimal effect on the otherwise protected area behind the flood wall. 
         [0046]    In the schematic of  FIG. 7A , the aforementioned very high wind gust and/or very strong wave splash safety gate sections  66  are shown to be provided along the top portion of the planks  36  (top portion of the flood wall). The safety gates  66  can be positioned on the top section of the flood wall as shown in  FIG. 7A  to minimize the bending moment on the plank  36  and reaction torque at the plank joint  37 ,  FIG. 2 . Each safety gate  66  comprises the panel  64  (which can be made out of the same material as the plank  36 ), which is mounted in a cut-out opening  67  in the plank  36  by rotary joints  65  so that the panels  64  could rotate back as shown in  FIG. 7B  when subjected to pressure from the water side of the flood wall. Preloaded spring elements (not shown), such as torsional springs acting at the joints  65 , can be provided to bias the panels in the opposite direction and against stops (not shown) provided inside the opening  67  to keep the panel flush on the boardwalk side with the surface  38  ( FIG. 2 ) of the boardwalk. Then if the wind gusts from the water side or wave pressure reaches above the prescribed threshold level of the preloaded safety gate  66 , then the safety gate panel  64  swings open momentarily as shown in the cross-sectional view of  7 B, to allow the peak wing gust and/or wave splash to pass through, thereby protecting the flood wall structure. The safety gate will then automatically close after the pressure acting on the panel  64  drops below the said threshold. 
         [0047]    The embodiment  70  shown in the schematic of  FIG. 8  is a dual use sidewalk which may be used around buildings or alongside of roads or the like, which can be turned into a flood barrier or to protect a building or the like against flying objects and debris during storms and hurricanes and the like.  FIG. 8  shows the cross-sectional view of the embodiment  70  as installed as a sidewalk in front of a building  71 . In  FIG. 8 , only the basic components of this embodiment is shown for the sake of clarity and other necessary and optional or variations of this basic embodiment is presented later in this disclosure. 
         [0048]    The embodiment  70  shown consists of certain pavement structure  72 , over which the sidewalk planks  73  rests. In the sidewalk configuration  74 , the planks  73  are shown with solid lines. In the configuration  74 , the planks  73  serve as a sidewalk, with a relatively smooth surface  75 , which can be walked upon or ridden upon by bicycles and the like, etc. In this configuration, the top surface  75  of the planks  36  can also be sloped slightly downward in the direction of allowing rain and washing water, etc., to flow towards the sidewalk drainage. 
         [0049]    The sidewalk planks  73  can be attached to the foundation  76  of the building  71  via hinge joints  77  (similar to hinge joints  37  and the plank attached shaft  43  as shown in the schematic of  FIG. 3 ). The supports of the hinge joints  77  can be rigidly attached to the concrete foundation  76  of the building  71  via reinforcing elements of the concrete foundation for increased load bearing. The hinge  77  shaft (not shown—but similar to  43  in  FIG. 3 ) is also rigidly attached to the planks  73 , such as via reinforcing elements as was described for the planks  36  of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . The hinge  77  shaft is in turn attached via a coupling, which could include a gearing box  78 , to the input shaft  79  (similar to the gearing mechanism  39  of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 ). Similar to the gearing box  39  of the embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the gearing box  78  is coupled to the aforementioned hinge shaft such that as the input shaft  79  is rotated by an external means, the hinge shaft is rotated to raise the plank  73  to its flood wall and object/debris impact protection configuration  80 . As a result, the sidewalk (planks in the configuration  74 ) are turned into flood and flying object/debris barrier that would protect the building. 
         [0050]    The planks  73  can be wide (in the direction of the sidewalk), for example 10-20 feet wide, and made without any openings so that when deployed as a flood barrier configuration  80 , water cannot pass through the planks. The space between two adjacent planks can be very small and sealing members can be provided as was described for the embodiment of  FIG. 2  as shown in  FIG. 4C . Any gap between the planks  73  and the building foundation is also sealed, such as was described for the embodiment of  FIG. 2  as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . The planks may be constructed from many different light weight but strong and tough materials to resist impact type loading due to gusts and objects/debris impact and flood water splashes. Possible materials include generally composite materials such as those containing recycled plastics with high strength fibers provided to provide high strength and tough. The surface  75  of the planks  73  may also be covered by asphalt or tiles or concrete based layers for pedestrian traffic and the like. 
         [0051]    The mechanism for raising the planks from their sidewalk configuration  74  to flood and object/debris barrier  80 ,  FIG. 8 , can be as was described for the embodiment of  FIG. 2  and shown in  FIG. 3 . When used as such a barrier for buildings, an electric motor (not shown) positioned together with the gearing  78  inside the building can be used to deploy the planks  73  to its configuration  80 . An electric motor can be provided with reduction gearing to minimize its size since barrier deployment does not need to be very rapid. In addition, the electric motor may be of double shaft type, so that in case of power outage the operator could attach a handle or wheel to the exposed shaft and rotate the rotor to slowly deploy the barrier. 
         [0052]    It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that in the case of flood or high wind and gust threats, the sidewalk planks all around the building (or the exposed side of the building) are raised to protect the building from flooding and/or flying objects and/or debris due to high winds and gusts. In such cases, at least one of the planks can be provided with steps  82  which are built into the outside facing side  81 ,  FIG. 8 , as shown in the schematic of  FIG. 9 . Each step  82  may also be provided with outward sliding steps such as the one shown in the blow-up view of  FIG. 9A . In the blow-up view of  FIG. 9A , the outward sliding step  83  is shown in its stored position and its deployed position  84  to provide large enough step surface area for a user to enter or exit the building  71 . Appropriate guides and stops commonly used in such mechanisms (not shown) are considered to be provided. Alternatively, as it is shown in  FIG. 9B , the step platform  85  is attached to the plank  71  inside the step opening  82  by a hinge  86  and is rotated in the direction of the arrow  87  to be deployed to its outward position  88  against a stop (such as the opening  82 ) to keep it in the shown position  88 . The sliding step  83  and the rotating step  85  can also be locked in their stored position and deployed as the need arises. It is also appreciated that either deployment options or their combination may be provided so that people could climb up into the building through, e.g., a window or other openings, or exit the building without requiring the barrier to be lowered. 
         [0053]    It is appreciated by those skilled in the art that many other relatively safe options may also be provided for people to climb into the building or exit it. For example, the aforementioned step openings  82  alone may be provided together with handles (not shown) attached to the sides of the steps  82  (such as being attached inside provided cavities so that they do not protrude beyond the surface  81  of the plank  73 ) so that the user can easily climb the surface using the step openings while holding on the handles. Alternatively, a deployable ladder (not shown) may be provided and embedded into a provided cavity on the side  81  of one or more plank, and which could be swung out and deployed for the same purpose as the aforementioned steps. 
         [0054]    In another embodiment, a boardwalk that can be deployed as a flood-barrier is shown in  FIG. 10  that can be positioned adjacent to bulkheads along a waterway to protect communities from overflow during high water level and flooding events. The barrier may be constructed with the telescopic feature shown to achieve higher deployed height. The telescopic feature also allows for adjustment of the flood barrier height along the waterway for uneven topography such that the height of the wall can be increased at land depressions. The boardwalk may be deployed using any one of the mechanisms described for the aforementioned embodiments. The displacing wall of the telescopic boardwalk may be deployed together with the boardwalk via a simple rotary to translation mechanism. Alternatively, the displacing wall sections may be made with materials, such as with enclosed void spaces, to make them floatable in water so that they are automatically deployed with rising water levels. 
         [0055]    The boardwalk structure can also be designed to cantilever over a waterway/canal if space is limited. 
         [0056]    Other embodiments/variations include a portable boardwalk configured so as to be taken away (stored away) when not in season; a mechanism of support that any backward rotation of the boardwalk panel would increasingly dig the bracing and other support elements into the ground; where the boardwalk is modular so that it can be used for any beaches with varying topography and geometry and would be easier to replace or fix defected pieces; a telescopic mechanism to adjust seawall elevation; where the panels (or sets of panels) may be used to form wave reflecting surfaces that together reflect the waves such that they interact (phased) to dissipate wave energy—thereby minimizing the energy of the wave as it hits the shore (walls); and proper orientation of wall sections in a harbor to dissipate the energy of the incoming (particularly longer wavelength) waves—dissipate the generated higher frequency waves. 
         [0057]    While there has been shown and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.