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Phase 1 Construction Activities: 90-day Look-head for June, 2015

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US Army Corps Report – Muddy River Flood Risk Management & Environmental Restoration Project Phase 1 Construction Activities Next 90 Days

The weather since the last update has truly cooperated for us and helped the progress along for the project. At the Upper Fens Pond (UFP) work area, the dry weather helped with the sediment removal from the river bottom so that we can construct the new flood risk management channel. All the sediment has been removed from the UFP and we have begun restoring/stabilizing the banks on both sides of the channel with stone protection. In the next couple of weeks, we will begin installing the steel sheeting support of excavation upstream of Avenue Louis Pasteur (ALP) so that we may begin that portion of work to construct an extension piece of precast concrete culvert to the existing ALP culvert. This section of culvert will allow us to “daylight” the river in the area between Upper Fens Pond and Avenue Louis Pasteur.

At the Riverway Culvert work area, pipe piles to support the precast concrete culverts are being installed; and it is expected to be complete before the end of June. Precast concrete culverts are anticipated to be installed late July. Once that happens, “daylighting” activities at the former Sears Parking Lot may begin as early as August.

Thank you for your continued interest and support for this project!

General: The Muddy River Flood Risk Management & Environmental Restoration Phase 1 Construction Project is located in the footprint generally between the Riverway downstream to Avenue Louis Pasteur. The major project components involve the installation of a 10-foot by 24-foot box culvert under the Riverway roadway, the installation of 10-foot by 24-foot box culvert under the Brookline Avenue roadway, daylighting of the area between the Riverway and Brookline Avenue, and daylighting of the area between Brookline Avenue and Avenue Louis Pasteur. Daylighting is the removal of existing twin 72″ culverts and excavation of the area to return the waterway to a natural state. This Notice is intended to identify the general construction activities that will be performed in the next 90 days. A figure that shows the existing conditions and the proposed improvements is at the end of this report.

June 2015 through August 2015 Period:

In order to continue the work on the Riverway Culvert, a traffic shift was performed on April 25 and 26, 2015. This traffic shift maintained the current traffic pattern around the former Sears Parking Lot at Park Drive, between the Landmark Center and the Riverway Connector, but funneled the three lanes of traffic down to two lanes as it rounds the former Sears Parking Lot and connects with the Riverway Connector. In addition, Brookline Avenue was opened back up to two-way traffic to alleviate any potential congestion caused by the Park Drive lane reductions. The current traffic pattern can be seen in the figure shown below.
In the Riverway Culvert work area, since the traffic move, the contractor has excavated to grade of the pile caps and has begun installation of steel pipe piles. The vibrating of the pipe piles began in early June and it is expected to be complete before the end of June. Once the pipe piles are in, then the next activities will be tying steel and formwork, in preparation for concrete placement for pile caps; invert slab; and wing walls. Culverts are anticipated to be installed late July.
A continuing activity in the next couple of months, in the area around the former Sears Parking Lot (Landmark Center Island, near Brookline Avenue), is the installation of conduits and foundations for the end condition roadway lighting, which may result in occasional lane closures.
A concurrent activity to the Riverway culvert and end condition roadway lighting work is the sediment removal and bank restoration/stabilization of the Upper Fens Pond. Since the active diversion of the river began in mid-April, the removal of the sediment in the river bottom to construct the new flood risk management channel in the Upper Fens Pond has been completed. Currently, the contractor is restoring/stabilizing the banks on both sides of the channel with stone protection. On the upland part of the banks, additional bank stabilization with geocells will begin. Bank construction will continue into August.
In addition, beginning at the end of June, the contractor will be begin installing the steel sheeting support of excavation upstream of Avenue Louis Pasteur (ALP). This will allow the construction of the extension piece of the precast concrete culvert upstream of the existing ALP culvert. Once the extension piece of precast concrete culvert is in place, then the section of existing culvert between the Upper Fens Pond and Avenue Louis Pasteur will be removed and the river “daylighted” to continue the flood risk management channel and the recreation of the historic Olmstead island. The construction activities in this phase of work are expected to continue into Fall.
At the end of this notice we have included some pictures that show the construction progress in the Riverway Culvert and the Upper Fens Pond work areas. We thought folks would be interested in seeing the work occurring behind the fence.
If you have any questions, require additional information or would like to be added to the Project Contact List, please email the projectmailbox at MuddyRiver@usace.army.mil