Aquatic Contracting (AC) was selected by Clean Water Services (CWS) for construction of this bank stabilization and habitat enhancement project along Gales Creek in Forest Grove. The B-Street Trail and associated trail bridge was built adjacent to an abandoned railroad grade. Erosion along the streambank has continued to scour away the railroad grade near the trail. The presence of numerous abandoned railroad trestle pilings increased localized scour, exacerbating bank erosion in this area.

For this project, AC stabilized 175 feet of Gales Creek streambank. The project included extensive in-water work area isolation with supersacks and turbidity curtains, and then significant excavation to bench down and install over 200 pieces of large woody debris along the toe of the bank. The bank was then rebuilt with 8 layers of coir fabric-wrapped soil lifts. Thousands of native cuttings were installed between each soil lift. Several LWD habitat structures were also installed on the floodplain bench. The project also included using our excavator mounted MOVAX vibratory pile driver to remove approximately 40 abandoned creosote treated pilings to improve water quality and normalize flow patterns along the bank. AC staff also coordinated with ODFW, obtained Scientific Take Permits for in-water work, conducted fish salvage/rescue, and provided agency reporting.