USACE celebrates completion of Phase II of the Muddy River project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday to mark the completion of Phase 2 of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management project in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts.

The 3.5-mile-long Muddy River flows through the heart of Frederick Law Olmsted’s famed “Emerald Necklace,” one of the most carefully crafted park systems in America and the oldest remaining linear urban park system in the United States.

The Muddy River FRM project was initiated in response to a storm event in 1996 that resulted in overtopping of the banks of the Muddy River as well as several tributary areas, particularly Stony Brook.

The stormwater that was not contained by the Muddy River caused severe flooding and extensive damage to the Green Line Station of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, local hospitals, schools and homes.

USACE completed Phase 1 of the project in June of 2016 and formally turned it over to the nonfederal sponsors for maintenance in March of 2019. Phase 1 work included the replacement of two undersized culverts, daylighting two sections of the river, and modification of a bridge and culvert headwall.

The Phase 2 construction contract was awarded to Charter Contracting Company in February 2020 and major construction was completed in October of this year.

Phase 2 work consisted of dredging approximately 91,000 cubic yards of sediment to increase the flow capacity of the river.