CHRIS CARLSON

Collier County, Fla., announced it has nearly completed installation of a $100,000 artificial reef nine miles off the county's coast.

The Naples Daily News reported the reef is a joint effort by the county's Coastal Zone Management and Solid Waste Management departments.

The 2,000-ton artificial reef is made from clean concrete materials such as old culverts, telephone poles and junction boxes. The Solid Waste Management Department, which paid for the project, received the materials for free from construction companies. The reef is expected to attract marine life and aid the ecosystem.

“Artificial reefs provide hard surfaces to allow barnacles, corals and oysters to attach,” said Pamela Keyes, a Coastal Zone Management environmental specialist, in a press release.