You may have noticed certain asphalt or soft paths closed near the Pennypack Creek at Pennypack on the Delaware due to construction activity. This is because Riverfront North Partnership, working closely with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, are working to stabilize 250 feet of the south bank of Pennypack Creek below the Baxter Trail Bridge. Due to soil conditions, streamflow and new features along the creek, this section of bank has suffered severe erosion over the last three years. This erosion has also threatened the creekside trail as well as the riparian forest. 

Much of the land at the confluence of the Pennypack and the Delaware is human-made, meaning the soil there is composed of very loose, unstable municipal waste and other deposited materials. Any plans to restore the bank needed to account for the presence of this waste material, so normal techniques of regrading and armoring the bank were not possible.  

To account for this and have minimal impact on the trail, RNP and our designers at Sovereign Consulting devised a series of rock jetties or vanes projecting into the flow of the Pennypack and dissipating the energy of both downstream and upstream tidal flows. These jetties will be connected to the bank by terraces of native herbaceous plantings. Subject to tidal action these vanes are also designed to be aquatic habitat and so the rocks have been selected from geologically proximate quarries to support biological growth. 

Construction is scheduled to last roughly one month, and all trails, meadows and turf spaces restored if affected during construction. This work, along with our on-the-ground land stewardship, reflects RNP’s commitment to restoring Delaware River habitats for ecological uplift and public enjoyment. 

Both Riverfront North Partnership and Philadelphia Parks & Recreation sincerely appreciate your observance of the trail closures. This is for your safety as construction vehicles may be present.  

This work is supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pa. Department of Community & Economic Development, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Estate of Russell Duane. 

Sovereign Consulting Inc. | sovcon.com 

Enviroscapes, Inc. | www.enviroscapesinc.com | Instagram: @enviroscapes_inc