Location: New Bedford, MA
Client: Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Team: Stantec, Woods Hole Group, and LEC Environmental

Brown, Richardson + Rowe and their subconsultants, Stantec, the Woods Hole Group, and LEC are assisting the City of New Bedford with planning and phasing recommendations for a multiuse path adjacent to the west bank of the upper Acushnet River. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Gateway City Parks Program is funding this planning effort. The River Walk will serve as the culmination of the City’s efforts to cleanup and restore the Acushnet River and its adjacent shoreline and construct a safe and positive amenity for city residents and visitors. Anticipated future completion of the remediation of the Acushnet River and the adjacent intertidal area has led the City of New Bedford to plan for a public linear park with access to the shoreline of the upper Acushnet. The proposed trail alignment and elevations will be informed by projected future flooding conditions and coastal storm risk level data gathered for this study by the Woods Hole Group for 2030, 2050 and 2070. Neighborhood safety and resiliency are important considerations in future planning decisions. Each parcel’s shoreline stabilization approach will affect its neighbor. The entirety of the River Walk strategy should reflect the larger goal for resiliency and the crucial relationship between shoreline erosion, possible subsurface contamination, and contamination capping strategies. The decision on shoreline treatment will likely affect both the approach to inland capping of contaminants, where necessary, as well as the inland flow of water across the site. These elements will be permitted as an integrated approach. The construction schedule for the path will be determined by the EPA Cleanup schedule for this Superfund site and the availability of funding over time. The path will likely be built in phases.