Section 14 Shawnee Mission Parkway Emergency Streambank Stabilization

Rathbun Lake, Iowa, United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – Kansas City District

Affinis is working with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to address an emergency bank stabilization issue on Brush Creek that’s threatening Shawnee Mission Parkway, State Line Road, and Ward Parkway bridges, as well as critical utilities in the area. Continued streambank erosion threatens to impact this existing infrastructure, causing significant repair costs, travel delays, and utility service interruptions. The streambank instability in this area is due to factors, like the urbanization of the upstream watershed, which generates high intensity, short duration, erosive stream flows and channel modifications that removed the stream’s natural curving path and replaced it with a much straighter one with higher flow velocities.

To determine the best course of action, we are completing a Definite Project Report for USACE. This report identifies bank stabilization alternatives to address approximately 450 feet of streambank erosion.

The following streambank stabilization alternatives were evaluated:

  • A structural concrete wall.
  • A gabion wall.
  • Longitudinal peaked stone toe protection (LPSTP) with rock vanes.

The preferred solution is the LPSTP with rock vanes, because of its low relative cost, effectiveness at stabilizing the streambank, and ability to positively redirect the stream channel away from the streambank.

Sustainability

    The report recommends the use of LPSTP with rock vanes. This is the most sustainable option of the three, because it provides the necessary level of bank protection and incorporates vegetation into the solution.
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