The Pennsylvania Environmental Council seeks proposals from qualified engineering, environmental consulting firms to move forward a project to restore up to 9 acres of riparian upland; 2,000 linear feet of inter-tidal shoreline, and 6 acres of aquatic habitat along Philadelphia's Delaware riverfront, in the neighborhood of Bridesburg.

Click here to view the full RFP.

The tasks expected to be completed in this phase of the project include: perform a geophysical investigation and a detailed survey of the site, develop a conceptual design study, prepare an estimate of mitigation credits that would be available under different restoration scenarios, and prepare an order-of-magnitude estimate of cost for final design and construction for the preferred restoration scenario.

PEC and its partners have just completed an ecological assessment project along the entire stretch of Philadelphia's Delaware riverfront. This project was funded by the Department of Environmental Protection's Coastal Zone Management Program and the William Penn Foundation. Criteria rating key habitat, site, and recreational opportunities were developed to help identify and prioritize restoration opportunities.

The Bridesburg site is an early ecological restoration opportunity identified during this effort, with hopefully more sites to follow in the future. Key partners in the ecological restoration assessment project included the Delaware River City Corporation, the Philadelphia Water Department, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The restored and enhanced shorelines, when built, will be a model for further ecological restoration opportunities along Philadelphia's Delaware riverfront.

In addition, this project will provide a working green buffer alongside a future walking and biking trail that will be a part of the future North Delaware River Greenway system. A major new greenway along 8 miles of Philadelphia's Delaware riverfront, the North Delaware River Greenway has been a focus of the Council and of the Delaware River City Corporation for many years.

It will eventually connect to additional trail and greenway segments in Bucks County and in the Central Philadelphia riverfront, thus completing also a major segment of the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway through Pennsylvania.