WK Dickson has received an Engineering Excellence Honors Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina for our work on the Town Creek Culvert Project in Greenville, North Carolina. The original culvert built-in 1935 was failing in multiple places, and the city was experiencing severe localized flooding. This $32 million capital improvement project (the largest infrastructure project undertaken by the City of Greenville) upsized the existing, failing, and severely undersized conveyance tunnel in its downtown urban core area, while incorporating crucial green infrastructure components.
The WK Dickson team provided planning, environmental assessment, permitting coordination, funding assistance, engineering design, and construction administration for this project that included approximately 306 LF of an 84-inch reinforced concrete pipe culvert, 2,333 LF of 10’x8’ reinforced concrete box culvert in a highly dense and urbanized core, 11 BMPs, water/sewer relocation, street hardscaping, erosion and sediment control, traffic control, and utility relocation coordination. In addition to upsizing the existing storm drainage system, this project contributes significant water quality benefits by installing several Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) including the largest Regenerative Stormwater Conveyance (RSC) project in North Carolina. By incorporating green infrastructure components that are expected to remove up to 250 pounds of nitrogen per year, the environmental effect of this project is akin to converting ten city blocks into coastal plain forests – truly a significant impact for a project located in an urban setting like Greenville.
“Throughout the project’s life, WK Dickson has been proactive in coming up with creative solutions to overcome many of the project’s significant challenges while simultaneously keeping the city’s best interests and concerns at the forefront.” Lisa Kirby, PE, CFM, Greenville’s Director of Engineering, continues, “The Town Creek Culvert project is a vital component in the investment of the city’s infrastructure, and completing this project will allow for improved quality of life and continued economic development in this growing area.”