Project Gallery > Bridge Abutment Protection Project in Waupaca, WI

Bridge Abutment Protection Project in Waupaca, WI

Location	Waupaca, WI
Project Materials
The site was fine-graded, the slope at the water's edge shaped to 3:1, and a heavy-duty bio-degradable blanket was installed under the ScourStop Transition Mats.
Project Background and Details
Earlier this year, as the Wisconsin DOT worked on renovating a bridge overpass in Waupaca, it was determined that the river bank below needed to be stabilized after being disturbed. Kevin Garrigan, WisDOT North Central Region project manager, indicated that plans for using rip rap were discussed. However, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) did not like this alternative because the existing bank and the surrounding area was a vegetated bank. Meanwhile, Peter Kemp, New Products Engineer, Bureau of Technical Services, WisDOT, had been reviewing ScourStopas a replacement for rock revetment, and decided to recommend ScourStop in this situation to achieve a more natural aesthetic landscape. So the contractors installed ScourStop Transition Matseliminate any bank scour from occurring due to river flow against a raw soil bank. Hoffman Construction, the contractor involved in the project, initially had specified rock in the bid. Yet they were happy to change direction when it was discovered that the ScourStop approach involved a lot less equipment, and was much easier to install. Garrigan indicates that the installation of ScourStop was easier than rip rap because of the location of the installation. "The slopes were already shaped and seeded, so we didn't want to take a backhoe down the slope and dump rip rap over the slope and disturb the finished area. Therefore, this installation was much less invasive to the finished areas."  He adds, "The cost was higher for this installation but comparable when factoring the change in environmental effects rip rap would have caused." So far, all the involved parties have liked what they've seen. Garrigan states, "The bank restoration is very aesthetically pleasing. The materials are performing as intended to date."  He adds the DNR and ACOE were also very pleased with the restoration of the bank and are very interested to see how this performs over time. The newly-designed bank should bode well for anglers and wildlife alike, as it won't impede their access to the river bank like rip rap would have.  Kemp states that as far as using ScourStop in the future, it is a product that could be used on a case-by-case basis as a project need arises. He adds, "This product does not have an overall approval for use in any specific category of products, but could be used as determined by the project engineer." To the left are before and after pictures of the renovated bridge site

Click to enlarge