Corps of Engineers Proposes Restoring Ohio Riverbanks
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
2 June 2016
By Don Hopey
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a report
recommending restoration of 7.8 acres of highly urbanized
floodplain along the north shore of the Ohio River from the
Carnegie Science Center to just beyond the West End Bridge.
The 10-month, $256,000 study co-produced by the Corps and
Riverlife, a nonprofit working on public access improvements to
the region’s rivers, outlines a $10.8 million project along
approximately 4,000 feet of riverbank that would restore a
floodplain wetland; improve aquatic habitat in the river; create
more natural, sloping riverbanks; remove invasive species; and
construct recreation features and interpretive signs.
“It’s a re-naturalization of the riverbank,” said Jay Sukernek,
executive vice president and chief financial officer of
Pittsburgh-based Riverlife. “If such a greening of the urban
riverfront can be done at the headwaters of the Ohio River it
could be done anywhere, and would be yet another example of how
the Pittsburgh riverfront can serve as a model for other cities.”
The 61-page project report was released for public comment
Thursday, and Riverlife will hold a public informational meeting
from 5:30 to 7 p.m. next Thursday at the Carnegie Science Center.
The project area is dominated by heavy commercial and industrial
development, including the science center, surface parking lots,
Heinz Field, Rivers Casino, warehouses and outdoor storage lots.
The report acknowledges that those developed properties will
create “significant constraints on available land” and limit the
project scope, especially away from the river.
Mr. Sukernek said construction is not expected to begin for three
to five years, and much of the actual work will be along the
river’s shoreline and extending into the river, below the water
line. He said 65 percent, or almost $6.7 million, of the project
costs would be covered by the Corps.
Tomma Barnes, the Corps’ Planning and Environment Branch chief for
the Pittsburgh District, said the project aims to restore the
historic riparian habitat in the Ohio River headwaters area.
“The plan outlined in the report recommends specific improvements
to the riverbanks which will increase the natural habitat in the
area, and that is priceless,” Ms. Barnes said. “We are basically
putting a little piece of nature back into a very urbanized area
for fish, birds and other wildlife.”
The full report can be viewed at the Corps website: lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Planning,ProgramsProjectManagement/ProjectReviewPlans.aspx,
and comments are invited through July 5.
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1983, or on Twitter
@donhopey.