USA: Construction to Begin on Stewart’s Creek Estuary Habitat Restoration

Construction on the Stewart’s Creek Estuary Habitat Restoration Project in Barnstable, Mass., is scheduled to begin this week and will have some impact on local traffic.

The project is located on Cape Cod in the town of Barnstable. The system is connected to Hyannis Harbor (Nantucket Sound) through a 50-foot-long, 3-foot-diamater concrete culvert that passes under Ocean Avenue. The project involves restoring tidal flushing to the salt pond/marsh system by replacing the existing culvert under Ocean Avenue.

The contractor’s current schedule calls for closing Ocean Avenue on Feb. 4, 2013 and reopening the road to traffic on May 3, 2013.

Work on the $470,720 project will be accomplished by Sumco Eco-Contracting, LLC, of Salem, Mass. The project is scheduled to take about four months to complete. The project involves increasing tidal exchange to the Stewart’s Creek salt pond and wetlands. Inadequate flushing is contributing to eutrophication and sediment accumulation in the salt pond. The Corps developed a plan to restore tidal flows, salt marsh, and benthic habitat to the salt pond/marsh system.

The existing culvert will be replaced with a 4-foot by 6-foot concrete culvert with headwalls and wingwalls. The downstream side of the culvert will be equipped with a combination sluice gate, which has a flap valve to allow water to leave the upstream area as the tide recedes. A sedimentation basin (a small depression) will be constructed at the upstream side of the culvert to capture sand transported into the marsh from the beach and an access ramp will be constructed to allow maintenance equipment to access the sedimentation basin.

The project will be managed by the Corps and all work will be accomplished under the supervision of a Corps’ Quality Assurance Representative to assure compliance with contract requirements.

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Press Release, January 30, 2013