Located in a floodplain, Lower McAlpine Creek Greenway in Charlotte, N.C. experienced several storm events that caused debris to build up under a truss bridge. Under heavier storm events, the stream would flow over the top of the banks and eventually scoured the earthen fill at each abutment. For safety reasons, Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation removed the bridge and looked for a way to allow water flow without an obstacle.
The bridge was raised five feet higher, and a PermaTrak concrete boardwalk was constructed to connect the bridge with the existing path. “Maintenance issues have been corrected because we were able to raise the bridge deck elevation to prevent the span acting like a dam each time debris laden flood waters rushed downstream,” project engineer Jeff Oden of Stewart, Inc. said.
Having experienced timber boardwalks wearing down in the area, PermaTrak was the durable, long-lasting solution Mecklenburg County was looking for on the greenway. “We selected the concrete material over treated wood due to an expectation that it would last much longer than wood,” Oden said.