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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers partnering with city for St. Vrain flood mitigation

Construction on the bridge replacement should begin in mid-2021, while work on channel improvements and a levee is expected to start in 2022.
Monte Whaley
Monte Whaley
2020_08_20_st_vrain_greenway8
Pelicans are right at home on the water at at Golden Ponds Nature Area. (Photo by Matt Maenpaa)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping Longmont in a first-ever partnership to bolster flood mitigation efforts along the St. Vrain Creek, which includes replacing the Boston Avenue bridge.

Construction on the bridge replacement should begin in mid-2021, while work on channel improvements and a levee is expected to start in 2022, according to a city of Longmont news release.

The Corps of Engineers released its final feasibility report and assessment of the project in October, according to the release. The agency began studying St. Vrain Creek corridor improvements in 2017 and decided they qualified for a $15 million boost as part of the Section 205 program. 

Section 205 of the Flood Control Act of 1948 allows the  Corps of Engineers to construct or improve site-specific flood risk management projects, the release states.

The  Corps of Engineers’ feasibility study of the project built on the existing work done through Longmont’s Resilient St. Vrain Project, according to the release. The Resilient St. Vrain Project is an extensive, multi-year plan to fully restore the St. Vrain Greenway and improve the St. Vrain Creek channel to protect people, property and infrastructure from future flood risk. 

Resilient St. Vrain began after the catastrophic September 2013 floods.

The Corps of Engineers originally reviewed the section of the St. Vrain Creek stretching from the BNSF railroad bridge (near Price Road) upstream to Lykins Gulch, located west of Airport Road, according to the release.

However, the Corps of Engineers decided its project will encompass the Boston Avenue bridge upstream to Sunset Street, the release states. It will include channel improvements and a levee along the north bank of the St. Vrain Creek adjacent to Izaak Walton Pond and replacement of the Boston Avenue bridge.

The Corps will manage final design and construction of the channel improvements and levee, while the city will design and manage the bridge replacement, according to the release.

Under the 205 program guidelines, the local agency — in this case Longmont — is required to put up a minimum funding match of 35%, or $5 million, the release states.

Longmont’s contribution includes:

  • Approximately $750,000 in funds for final design and construction.

  • Credit for the city-owned land and right-of-way along the St. Vrain Creek that will be used for the project and acquisition of additional land and easements required for the project.

  • Final design and replacement of the Boston Avenue bridge over St. Vrain Creek.

The city will maintain the area after completion.

Senior Civil Engineer Josh Sherman in an email Corps of Engineers this is the only phase of the Resilient St. Vrain Project that is being funded through the Corps’ Section 205 program.