Development brings ‘daylight’ to Rouge River
A walk across a section of the Rouge River buried in concrete for more than six decades will soon be possible as part of the $350 million development in Northville.
The section of the river, uncovered from a concrete tunnel originally installed to allow for construction of the racetrack in 1962, is part of the new park where 1,400 new hardwood trees have been planted and native plants installed as park of the 10-acre park. Northville Mayor Brian Turnbull said the daylighting of the river in the park is “the biggest environmental investment Northville’s ever made.” Turnbull said the transformation of the former racetrack land is “almost unbelievable.”
The new park will be owned by the city and maintenance will be the responsibility of the Northville Parks & Recreation Department. Turnbull said the park is expected to open by the end of next year. The park and riverwalk will all be “public access” features and include regional trials into both Wayne and Oakland counties.
According to Turnbull, costs for the project included about $40 million in public and environmental funding; $18 million in brownfield cleanup, $14 million from Hunter Pasteur for the river park, $5 million in city infrastructure work and $2.5 million from Wayne County for daylighting of the river.
Original plans for the huge development did not include daylighting of the river, but former Northville City Council member Nancy Darga, a founding member of Friends of the Rouge, advocated strongly for the uncovering of the waterway. A landscape architect, Darga cited the effects of the buried river on other communities. She said the culvert caused erosion and flooding in Livonia, Westland, Dearborn Heights and Redford.
Darga said careful and meticulous engineering of the flow and alignment of the river will ensure a correct and natural flow of the river and allow for fish to flourish in the water. The new design includes a 2-acre detention basin, which will act as a filtering process for the river water.
More than 59 million pounds of demolished concrete debris created from the daylighting project will be buried next to the river channel, a plan criticized by members of the Northville River Advocacy group. The disposal plan to crush and bury the debris was approved by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) Water Quality Division, but critics want the debris removed from the site to prevent any impact on nearby groundwater.
Darga and representatives of EGLE note that the disposal of the construction waste “fully complies with all regulatory requirements.”
Seth Herkowitz, a partner with Hunter Pasteur, also assured residents of the safety of the project.
“The River Park has been designed, engineered, and built consistent with all governmental permits and approvals.” He added that the creation of the River Park as “a legacy project that will serve the City of Northville and surrounding region, for future generations to come.”
