7th Avenue Creek Project
7th Avenue Creek has a history of flooding conditions, which have damaged homes and overtopped roadways, creating hazardous conditions and road closures. After several years of developing plans, obtaining grant funding, removing flood prone homes from along the creek, and finally designing and permitting improvement plans, the City completed our first significant construction project in 2021, which stretches from Washington Avenue at the southern limit to S. 10th Avenue at the northeastern limit. The project restored a natural meandering creek, stabilized streambanks, upsized culverts underneath Illinois, Indiana and South Avenues, removed a portion of S. 9th Avenue between E. Main Street and Illinois Avenue, and added a walking path along the creek between S. 10th Avenue and Indiana Avenue.
Native Landscaping – Establishment and Maintenance
Native landscaping takes upwards of three years to fully develop. Read below for expectations for the area by year:
2022 – “Sleep” Phase
- The site is primarily a temporary cover crop and weeds. This is normal. Some native plants may be able to be spotted at this time.
- The site is mowed at 8” height twice during the growing season, inhibiting reproduction of weeds and invasive species. Some plants are spot treated with herbicide.
- The native plants are focusing their energy into their root networks.
2023 – “Creep” Phase
- The weeds become lessened and native plants begin to spend energy on growth.
- The site is mowed at 12” height once or twice during the growing season, along with spot treatment of herbicide.
2024 – “Leap” Phase
- The native plants will now begin to out-compete the weeds and will be considered established at this time.
- Mowing is no longer utilized except near trees, fences etc. that may be sensitive to burning.
- Controlled burns are typically scheduled every 3-4 years once this phase is reached, which protect the deep rooted native vegetation and destroy shallow rooted invasive species and weeds.
Additional Project Background
In 2008, 7th Avenue Creek experienced significant flooding. The flooding caused large scale property damage and street flooding. The 2008 flood kicked off a series of events, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) floodway and floodplain re-mapping process and the City’s plan to reduce and/or eliminate flooding within the 7th Avenue Creek watershed.
FEMA has modeled a new floodplain, which is in its final stages of approval. The new floodplain maps became effective on July 20, 2021, mapping 42 residences and 15 commercial structures into the floodplain and floodway. The City’s improvements will allow the floodplain maps to be revised once again, this time removing several structures from the floodplain. Phases 2 and 3 of the 7th Avenue Creek project remain as future projects, which, upon completion, will remove the remaining structures from the floodplain.
Master Plan and Watershed Plan
The City completed development of a Master Plan in 2017, which outlines a construction project for the 7th Avenue Creek watershed that will not only remove all of the structures from the floodplain, but will also provide naturalized greenway areas along the creek, increasing water quality and restoring the creek to a natural state. In addition to the master plan, the City developed a Watershed Plan for 7th Avenue Creek (in conjunction with State Street Creek). This plan addresses stakeholder concerns within the watershed and provides recommendations of ways that water quality can be improved.
Updates
Update - 9/24/21
Project is substantially complete at this time. Remaining work to be completed in the upcoming weeks includes:
- Pavement Marking
- Fence installation
- Tree planting
- Punchlist corrections
Update - 9/9/21
Anticipated work for the week of 9/13/21
- Pour reminder of concrete sidewalk
- Pour concrete toe walls on box culvert end sections
- Final grading and restoration of area north of Indiana
- Pave binder and surface on Illinois Avenue
- Pave surface on Indiana and Walnut Avenue
- Pave bike path
- Install fencing
Update - 8/27/21
Anticipated work for the week of 8/30
- Grading and place stone for bicycle path and sidewalk north of Illinois
- Set the pedestrian bridge at the north project limit and pour the concrete deck and approaches
- Pour curb and gutter on Illinois Avenue
- Final grading and top soil placement
* Please note - all work is weather dependent
Update - 8/19/21
Anticipated work for week of 8/23
- Permanent restoration with seed and blanets along the creek banks
- Continue stone armoring along the creek banks
- Grading and place stone for bicycle path north of Illinois
- Framing and pouring concrete foundations for the pedestrian bridge at the north project limit
- Structure adjustments in the street on Indiana Avenue and Walnut Avenue
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
Update - 8/5/21
Work anticipated week of 8/9/21
- Remove 9th Ave. culvert
- Begin retaining wall installation along the north and south sides of Illinois Ave.
- Final grading and haul off in area north of Illinois Ave. Install stone toe armoring along the banks.
- Excavate and begin framing and placing rebar for bridge abutments
- Potentially pave bike path from Indiana to Illinois
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
Update - 7/29/21
Work anticipated week of 8/2/21
- Begin retaining wall installation along the north and south sides of Illinois Ave.
- Final grading and haul off in area north of Illinois Ave.
- Pour concrete curb and gutter and sidewalk at Walnut and 8th.
- Pour sidewalk on 7th Ave. between South Ave. and Indiana Ave.
- Pave asphalt binder on Indiana Ave. and on Walnut Ave.
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
Update - 7/22/21
Work anticipated week of 7/26/21
- Begin retaining wall installation along the south side of Illinois Ave.
- Permanent stabilization with seed and blanket between Indiana and Illinois Ave.
- Grading and haul off north of Illinois Ave.
- Concrete curb and gutter and sidewalk along Indiana Ave.
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
Update - 7/1/21
Work anticipated week of 7/5/21
- Dewater, cleanup, and pour level pad for Illinois Ave. culvert. Set box culvert sections, waterproof, and backfill if weather allows.
- Retaining wall installation on Indiana Ave. south side
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
** No work on 7/5/21
Update - 6/24/21
Work anticipated week of 6/28/21
- Pave asphalt binder on 8th Ave. and Walnut Ave.
- Pour level pad for Illinois Ave. culvert. Set box culvert sections if weather allows.
- Retaining wall installations at 10th and at Indiana.
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
Update - 6/17/21
- There will be a water shutdown on Illinois avenue on Friday the 18th to facilitate water main lowering for the new culvert.
- The contractor will place new box culverts sections on Illinois avenue on Monday and Tuesday. This will be followed by waterproofing and backfilling of the culvert.
- Grading and excavation will be ongoing in the section of the project north of Illinois between 8th and 10th. The Contractor will continue cutting and shaping the existing material to form the new creek channels. This will be followed by the installation of stone bank protection.
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
Update - 6/10/21
Work anticipated week of 6/14/21
- The Contractor will be backfilling the Indiana culvert, placing membrane waterproofing, and beginning to place stone for Indiana Ave.
- Storm sewer installation will be taking place on Walnut and on Indiana
- Illinois Ave. will be closed starting 6/11/21 and Illinois culvert removal is anticipated to take place over the weekend.
- Grading and excavation will be ongoing in the section of the project north of Illinois between 8th and 10th. The Contractor will continue cutting and shaping the existing material to form the new creek channels.
* Please note: All work is weather dependent
Update - 6/3/21
Work anticipated week of 6/7/21
- The Contractor will be installing box culvert sections on Indiana Ave. Tuesday through Thursday. Once the culvert is in place they will be backfilling and covering with a waterproofing membrane.
- Sanitary and storm sewer installation will begin on Walnut Ave and continue east to 10th Ave.
- Grading and excavation will be ongoing between Indiana Ave. and Illinois Ave.
* Please note all work is weather dependent
Update - 5/27/21
Work anticipated week of 5/31/21
- Tuesday there will be a water shut down to allow the Contractor to lower the water main on Indiana Ave. Lowering the water main is necessary to accommodate the new culvert.
- Sanitary sewer installation will begin on Walnut Ave and continue east to 10th Ave.
- Excavation and preparations for the new box culvert will take place all week.
- Grading and excavation will be ongoing between Indiana Ave. and Illinois Ave.
* Please note all work is weather dependent
Update - 5/20/21
Work anticipated for the week of 5/24/21
- Indiana Ave will be closed at 7th Ave for pavement, curb, and sidewalk removal to be followed by culvert removal the following week.
- Grading will be completed between South Ave and Indiana Ave.
- Contractor will complete stone armoring on the banks and install cross vane weirs.
- Sanitary sewer installation will take place on Indiana Ave and Walnut Ave.
- Landscaping may take place between South Ave and Indiana Ave.
Update - 5/17/21
Work anticipated for the week of 5/17/21
- Indiana Ave will be closed at 7th Ave midweek for pavement, curb, and sidewalk removal to be followed by culvert removal.
- Grading will take place between South Ave and Indiana Ave cutting the creek to its final alignment and grades. Contractor may also install stone armoring on the banks.
- South Avenue will be paved with asphalt binder and surface and then reopened to traffic by the end of the week.
- The pavement on 10th Ave will receive a full depth asphalt patch.
- Installation of Pipe End Section Protection on the South Avenue culvert.
Update - 5/6/21
Week of 5/10/21
- Final grading and restoration south of South Ave.
- Concrete curb and gutter on South Ave.
- Grading between South Ave. and Indiana Ave.
- Sanitary sewer on 10th Ave.
Update - 4/29/21
Week of 5/3/21
- Grading and stabilizing slopes south of South Ave.
- Install sanitary sewer between South Ave. and Indiana
- Storm sewer installation on South Ave.
Update - 4/27/21 - Road Closure
TUESDAY, APRIL 27:
7th Avenue at South Ave. will be down to one lane with flaggers for the day.
Update - Week of 4/26/21
- Installation of box culvert sections on South Ave.
- Horizontally drilled sewer pipe between Illinois and Indiana
- Grading and stabilization of creek side slopes south of South Ave.
Update - Week of 4/19/21
- Sanitary sewer replacement on South Ave.
- Water Main replacement on South Ave. – Impacted residents will receive notification in advance of any shutdowns.
- South Ave. box culvert preparations
Update - 4/12/21
- Beginning Monday, April 12th, South Avenue will be closed just east of 7th Avenue for culvert removal and replacement.
- This closure is anticipated to last approximately five weeks.
- Removal of South Avenue culvert; replacing water main and sanitary sewer on South Avenue.
Update - 4/5 - 4/9/21
- Removal of South Avenue culvert. Replacing water main and sanitary sewer on South Ave.
Update - 3/29 through 4/2/21
- General cleanup and site maintenance
Update - 3/17/21
- Beginning Monday, March 22nd, South Avenue will be closed just east of 7th Avenue for culvert removal and replacement.
- This closure is anticipated to last approximately five weeks.
Update - 3/8/21
Anticipated construction work
- Week of 3/15/21: Tree and brush removal
- Week of 3/22/21: South Avenue to be closed at 7th Ave. for culvert replacement. The closure will last approximately 5 weeks.
* Please Note: All work contingent on weather