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Friends Of The Wissahickon Mark Completion Of $3.5 Million Valley Green Run Restoration & Pedestrian Bridge Project

On December 10, the Friends of the Wissahickon marked the completion of its $3.5 million Valley Green Run Restoration and Pedestrian Bridge project in Wissahickon Valley Park in Philadelphia with a ribbon cutting.

The pivotal project, which combines environmental conservation with visitor accessibility and enjoyment, is FOW’s largest capital investment to date and the pinnacle of the organization’s 100th anniversary celebration.

FOW Executive Director Ruffian Tittmann dedicated the new footbridge as Lida Way, in honor of naming donors Linda and David Glickstein, and in tribute to FOW’s more than 2,000 volunteers.

In congratulating Tittmann and FOW, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson said, “PPR is lucky to have FOW as a partner for your leadership, tenacity, and use of resources to clean and green this majestic watershed park, one of the shining assets of our park system, and for your service over the past 100 years.”

Other speakers at the event, who acknowledged the importance of partnership and community commitment in undertaking such projects, included Jeanne Barrett Ortiz, Southeast Regional Advisor for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Jessica Brooks, assistant deputy commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department; Rep. Tarik Kahn, and Garrett Trego, FOW board president.

“FOW is all about maintaining balance, and this project is a perfect example of that,” said Trego. “It respects our beautiful park, and solves needs in terms of stormwater management, stream restoration, pedestrian access, and transportation. We’ve accomplished these goals through an incredibly thoughtful, and well-planned and artfully executed project.”

The ambitious undertaking consisted of two main phases.

The first phase remediated years of worsening storm-induced erosion on both sides of Valley Green Run, which caused both the streambank and original wooden boardwalk to collapse in 2014, forcing pedestrians to navigate the narrow road as they headed down to the park.

Now stable, the stream channel and streambank will slow the erosive impacts of stormflow, keep sediment from being discharged to Wissahickon Creek, (which provides drinking water for a third of Philadelphians), and restore a riparian buffer with over 200 Philadelphia native woody plants.

The project’s second phase created a 200-foot elevated galvanized footbridge that will now safely move visitors off Valley Green Road as they approach the Valley Green area, the most visited area of the park.

The signature feature is an observation platform that gives visitors an expanded view of the Wissahickon’s schist outcrops and historic Valley Green Bridge as it welcomes them to the park’s unofficial “front door.”

The final component of the project - the “North Approach" - located just north of the pedestrian bridge entrance, includes the natural-style stream restoration and a new inlaid stone trailhead feature that can retain the hillside, resiliently convey stormwater, and manage high volumes of park visitors through the area.

The project was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, Department of Environmental Protection, Commonwealth Financing Authority, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and the Philadelphia Water Department.

Additionally, more than $1.3 million was contributed by a combination of private foundations and individual donors - the project’s largest single funding source.

The project team consisted of Skelly and Loy, a Terracon Company, general contractor and streambank restoration designer; CVMNEXT Construction, design/builder on the pedestrian bridge; Resource Restoration Group, builder for the stream restoration and North Approach elements; and Krieger Architects, pedestrian bridge design architect and project architect for donor recognition.

Click Here for opportunities to name planks on the new walkway.

Visit the Friends of the Wissahickon website to learn more about programs, initiatives, upcoming events and how you can get involved.

(Photo: Garrett Trego, FOW board president; Rep. Tarik Kahn; Jessica Brooks, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Philadelphia Water Department; David and Linda Glickstein, bridge naming donors; Jeanne Barrett Ortiz, southeast regional advisor, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Ruffian Tittmann, FOW executive director, and Susan Slawson, commissioner, Philadelphia Parks & Recreations.)

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