A Nature-Based Approach for Resilient Infrastructure: SEPTA Jenkintown Stream Restoration
Tyler Charles, PE
JMT
Philadelphia, PA
The Jenkintown Stream Restoration project – located in Montgomery County, PA – relieved Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) acute vulnerability to flood events at a key commuter railroad hub by embarking on a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy. This urban stream restoration project improves the resiliency of SEPTA’s facilities and provides infrastructure protection by leveraging the stacked benefits of ecological restoration in lieu of typical engineered solutions and hard-armoring. The project restored over 1,600 linear feet of stream and floodplain along Tacony Creek and Baeder Run – including 300 linear feet of daylighting along Baeder Run through the removal of existing culverts – while creating approximately 1 acre of floodplain wetlands and over 550,000 cubic feet of additional flood storage volume.
The presentation will highlight challenges and lessons learned throughout the planning, design, and construction-phases of this unique stream restoration project. The presentation will open with a detailed review of the preliminary flood study and site investigations, which paved the way for implementation of innovative design elements, through the development of a robust alternatives and cost/benefit analysis. A review of the project location, site constraints and considerations, design approach, and stakeholder/local coordination will be highlighted to give the listener perspective on the project. A major focus of the presentation will be the 2D hydraulic modeling, which allowed JMT to successfully target “hot spots” throughout the corridor where flood conveyance and higher shear stress/velocity could be mitigated through specific ecological restoration improvements. Construction issues and lessons learned will also be explored during this presentation, with commentary on how the adaptable nature of the design was utilized to expedite project implementation.
About Tyler Charles, PE
Tyler Charles is a water resources engineer specializing in ecological restoration within urban settings. He has over 12 years of experience providing engineering design and oversight for stream and floodplain restoration design, geomorphic assessments and monitoring, watershed assessments, hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, environmental permitting, and construction oversight. He has significant field experience and training in applying fluvial geomorphic principles to the assessment, design and construction of stream and floodplain restoration projects in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Tyler served as the Deputy Project Manager for the SEPTA Jenkintown Stream Restoration project and led the project’s construction-phase services for JMT.
