Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District
Indian River inlet map of construction site
The Philadelphia District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Oct. 7 announced news about two local projects — one each in Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania.
Last year, USACE awarded a $5.3 million contract to Agate Construction Co. Inc. of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., to repair a portion of a failed bulkhead and sand-tighten a portion of the south jetty at Indian River Inlet in Sussex County, Del.
On the north side of the inlet, the contractor has been conducting repairs to the bulkhead since last spring. Thus far, Agate's crews have installed a steel sheet pile wall, placed 12,000 tons of rock to fill in a deep scour hole that contributed to the bulkhead failure, and have begun work on a post and panel wall.
A little later in October, the contractor will begin sand tightening work on the south jetty, USACE noted. This effort will involve strengthening a 215-ft.-long section of the jetty by driving steel sheet piling behind the existing sidewalk.
In preparation for the work, Agate has installed fencing and blocked off roughly 10 parking spaces to allow for materials deliveries.
The company anticipates finishing all construction at Indian River Inlet by the spring of 2025.
Ecosystem Improvement Begins in Suburban Philadelphia
The federal agency's Philadelphia District also announced that it had awarded a $2.1 million contract to a Massachusetts company to stabilize, naturalize and improve ecosystem function along Sandy Run Creek at Roychester Park and Grove Park in Abington Township, Pa.
The project is designed to enhance and restore aquatic, wetland, and riparian habitat; improve infiltration of flood waters; stabilize stream banks and reduce erosion; control invasive species; and reconnect floodplains, according to a USACE news release.
Lucianos Excavation Inc. in Taunton, Mass., will now bring in excavators, dump trucks and other heavy equipment to the site, located on the north end of Philadelphia. Materials including riprap, prefabricated footbridges and sewer pipeline also will be trucked to the site, and the contractor will remove excess soil and stones from the work zone.
The construction along Sandy Run Creek within the parks is expected to take about one year to complete, the USACE noted. During that time, fences will be erected for safety purposes.
Roychester Park's project features include:
- Bank stabilization to reduce erosion and sedimentation in this stretch of Sandy Run by regrading, planting native vegetation and strengthening the stream banks.
- The replacement of two damaged culverts with more ecosystem friendly prefabricated steel footbridges.
- An existing sanitary sewer relocation to protect the stream outside of its channel, the installation of a new sanitary line comprising roughly 830 ft. of 10-in. PVC sewer pipe, and four precast reinforced concrete sewer holes to halt ongoing erosion.
- A riparian enhancement to stabilize around 1,000 sq. ft. of eroded stream banks with stone riprap.
- Upland native planting to improve the natural habitat, as well as clearing and grubbing approximately 2,000 sq. yds. of undesirable vegetation, regrading and stabilizing 900 linear ft. of the stream bank using native live stakes and seed, and new planting within a native wildflower meadow near Corinthian Avenue.
At nearby Grove Park, work will soon get under way to:
- Restore the Sandy Run creek channel to near natural conditions and remove existing gabion baskets, regrade banks to better connect the main channel with the forested riparian buffer, and remove 350 linear ft. of concrete channel bottom so as to replace it with smaller natural stone and woody debris.
- Improve the riparian habitat with native trees, shrubs and herbaceous species from the top of the streambank to approximately 70 ft. on both sides of the stream. Upland areas also will be planted with native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants to expand the riparian buffer into open high ground and connect the buffer to the existing adjacent forested floodplain.
- Restore the forested floodplain and excavate a tributary channel in a low-lying area of the floodplain. Stormwater will be redirected into the excavated channel to utilize the filtrating and storage capacity of the floodplain and wetlands in the park. Lucianos' crews will excavate small areas in the forested floodplain to enhance wetland functions. Finally, invasive vegetative species will be cleared out of this section of Grove Park
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