Thief River Falls Streambank Stabilization
Background
Streambanks along the Red Lake River have become unstable in Thief River Falls, MN. Three project locations called Hartz Park, Greenwood, and Wenzloff were previously identified in a water quality study completed by Houston Engineering Inc. (HEI), are now coming to life with design and construction for streambank stabilization. The Pennington County Soil and Water Conservation District consulted with HEI to complete the planning, design, permitting, and construction to address each of these site’s unique needs and requirements.
The Project
As our team investigated these sites, additional streambank stabilization issues were identified, and our team’s designs accommodated the changes accordingly. A 48-inch culvert at the Wenzloff project site was identified. It is a drop structure outlet that incorporated a city storm sewer. After coordinating with the Watershed District, County, and City of Thief River Falls it was decided that the culvert would be left as-is and HEI would work around the culvert and drop structure for project access.
Our team completed additional survey and design work for Greenwood to accommodate steep riverbank slopes above the original project extents. At the request of the City, the riverbank was sloped back at a 3:1 above the bankfull bench to provide a higher factor of safety for stability and provide a pleasing aesthetic look for the project.
Final plans for construction were in place for Hartz Park when a bank failure occurred outside Hartz Park’s original project limits. Because of this, the Hartz Park site was put on hold to pursue additional funding source and project options for the homeowners.
Work began in March 2021. Streambank stabilization at Wenzloff and Greenwood were completed in December 2022.
Watch this timelapse video of the construction:
Project Highlights
- HEI adapted and responded to each unexpected change of events with a tactful approach.
- Because the HEI team made accommodations to each site’s unique needs, HEI’s final designs and solutions were impactful for the client and to the location.
Project Details
Client: Pennington County Soil and Water Conservation District
Location: Thief River Falls, Minnesota
Project Highlights
Project Highlights
- HEI adapted and responded to each unexpected change of events with a tactful approach.
- Because the HEI team made accommodations to each site’s unique needs, HEI’s final designs and solutions were impactful for the client and to the location.
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