In 2011, Batson-Cook, assisted by Scott Bridge Co., was chosen to build the world’s longest urban whitewater course in Columbus, Ga., through the Chattahoochee River Restoration project. The project both enhanced the river’s local environment and created a state-of-the-art whitewater facility.
Photo courtesy Batson-Cook Co
The Columbus, Ga., project won the top award in the water and environmental project category.
Contractors hired divers to survey the river and help determine its “true” channel, which helped builders determine where underwater structures, such as boulders, should be placed in order to achieve the designer’s intent for both the river’s natural bank restoration as well as the whitewater course. The project team’s biggest challenge was removing two dams that were more than 100 years old—the Eagle & Phenix Dam and the City Mills Dam—that were built in the late 1800s to provide power to the now-abandoned textile mills located along the river. To take out the structures, crews drilled holes down through the top of the dams and placed dynamite topped with crushed gravel and then more dynamite. Once blasted, the team used heavy equipment to manually dismantle the rest of the structure. Also, the project team recontoured the river bed to create whitewater courses; changed the contour of the river’s flow for the whitewater rapids; and constructed a habitat pool for fish and wildlife.
The breaching of the 130-year-old Eagle and Phenix Dam, removal of the City Mills Dam, and formation of natural habitat pools, construction of a boat launch, viewing terrace, and pedestrian bridge unleashed the potential of the river and community, dramatically improving the local downtown experience, providing new economic opportunities, attracting new residents and businesses, and boosting tourism. Dozens of new in-river features provide over two miles of world class whitewater kayaking and rafting. Numerous bank improvements allow for better tourist access and observation areas. In addition, the project created habitat for the endangered Shoal Spider Lilly and native Shoal Bass, an important game fish only found in the southeastern U.S.
The Chattahoochie River Conservancy played a large part in reclaiming this magnificent river.
“The dams built along the Chattahoochee River have done immense damage to the ecosystem. By removing the dams no longer serving a purpose to the community, we are able to restore sections of the river to a state that closely resembles pre-dam habitat. These restored sections may be small (3-10 miles) but are immensely valuable in the fight to restore the Chattahoochee River. In impounded areas where dam removal is not an option, we partner with the Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Power, and the US Army Corps of Engineers to improve the habitat within the reservoirs and reduce the impacts of invasive species.“
https://www.chattahoocheeriverconservancy.org/our-work.html
All told, the Chattahoochee River Restoration project helped restore this once highly-disturbed river back to its natural and unrestricted flow and transformed it into a thing of beauty for the community that will also be attracting numerous visitors and recreationists.
References
https://www.batson-cook.com/portfolio/chattahoochee-river-restoration
https://www.enr.com/articles/12209-chattahoochee river-restoration-churns-up-whitewater-attraction
https://mcglaughlinwhitewater.com/projects/chattahoochee-river-restoration