From Fish Farm to Floodplain – A Story of Relocation and Restoration
David Hursey, PE
Kimley-Horn
Raleigh, North Carolina
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) planned to construct a 34.5-mile multi-lane freeway looping around the northern part of Winston-Salem. Smith Creek crosses underneath I-40 business, near the intersection of the proposed multi-lane freeway, flowing from south to north, and runs parallel to multiple existing ponds that house a fish farm. The proposed roadway improvements would completely fill over Smith Creek, due to the proximity of the existing roadway, NCDOT decided the best decision to reduce liability would be to relocate Smith Creek through the existing ponds. However, the property owner was not interested in selling as he relied on these ponds for his business. NCDOT moved forward with designing a 560 linear-foot culvert underneath the proposed fill slope. Prior to bidding U-2579, NCDOT was contacted by the property owner about renegotiating his property. NCDOT shifted gears and pursued the relocation of 2,350 linear feet of Smith Creek. The relocation of Smith Creek was designed through two drained ponds using natural channel practices that improved the streams geomorphology, established a floodplain, and improved the habitat function. An unnamed tributary to Smith Creek was also relocated to converge with Smith Creek. Since the property owner used the existing stream to feed the downstream ponds, a new intake vault was designed to provide future flow to the downstream ponds. This presentation will cover design techniques focused on the reconnection and improvement of the floodplain, floodplain function, and natural channel design techniques for a priority 1 stream restoration.
About David Hursey, PE
David Hursey, PE (Kimley-Horn) is a water resources specialist with Kimley-Horn focusing on stormwater projects in central North Carolina. He has extensive experience in hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, roadway drainage design and drainage studies, flood studies for land development, and stream restoration and watershed studies. David also has a background in permit preparation, erosion/sediment control design, and permitting coordination with municipal and state agencies. He has provided these services on numerous types of projects, including large NCDOT roadway projects, SCM retrofit projects, greenway projects, and municipal drainage and stream restoration projects. Several of his stream restoration projects include Ailey Young Park Dam Removal and Stream Restoration project in Wake Forest, NC; South Buffalo Creek Water Quality and Habitat Improvement Project in Greensboro, NC; Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Streambank Repairs in Durham, NC; Strayhorn Branch Enhancement in Durham, NC; and Downtown Greenway College Branch Enhancement in Greensboro, NC.
