We are excited to announce that E&LP won Best Engineering Design Awards at the Metropolitan Builders & Contractors Association of New Jersey 2021 Awards of Excellence.
Site Design – Commercial Property: Diamond Nation, Flemington, NJ
Diamond Nation Expansion Site Plan
Diamond Nation Expansion Completed Construction
Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ is a nationally recognized “baseball and softball tournament and training complex” that includes the Jack Cust Baseball Academy and Jennifer Finch Softball Academy.[1] This expansion project adds another state-of-the-art field to the facility that will enable them to host more games of its 144-team Super 17 Invitational and “will be able to convert to two smaller fields for 9U-12U baseball and girls softball.”[2] For this commercial property project, E&LP provided a feasibility study, Phase 1 environmental assessment, and soil testing as well as geotechnical engineering and site civil engineering services, including site design, grading, stormwater management, and permitting.
[1] https://diamondnation.com/facility/
[2] https://diamondnation.com/diamond-nations-newest-field-rising-from-the-trees/
Site Design – Habitat Restoration: West Brook Habitat Restoration, Ringwood Borough, NJ
Upper Gibson Pool Section of West Brook after Habitat Restoration
In Passaic County, NJ, E&LP improved the trout habitat within West Brook in Ringwood Borough by supplying plans for a Highlands General Permit #1 with Habitat Creation and Enhancement as well as a Water Quality Certificate. The WindBeam Fishing Club employed E&LP and Urbani Fisheries to restore 2,275 linear feet of degraded trout stream habitat.
The construction work generally consisted of excavation and relocation of soil, stumps, and rocks in order to create deeper pools for fish habitat enhancement. The West Brook is located within the West Brook/Burnt Meadow Brook HUC 14 subwatersheds, and flows southeast across the WindBeam Club property, under Magee Road Bridge, and through the southeastern end of the property before its high flow events resulted in adverse impacts to trout habitat within the upstream reach of West Brook as well as upstream and downstream of Magee Road Bridge. These flow events caused the movement of large debris within the channel, resulting in blocked channels, alteration of channel morphology, and damages to existing structures. Additionally, these events caused floodplain scour and erosion as well as the deposition of sediment as point bars and within pools. Sediment deposition within pool habitat can reduce cold water refuge for trout during the summer months through infilling, resulting in shallower pool depths and warmer water temperatures. Sediment deposition within riffle habitat can reduce suitable spawning habitat through a reduction in interstitial space in stream bed material, which may lead to reduced fry survival and benthic invertebrate production.
Finally, there are a number of stormwater outlets originating from West Brook Road located upstream of, and within, the property that outlet directly into West Brook. Not only do these outlets discharge sediment laden stormwater during precipitation events, further contributing to the sedimentation of valuable trout habitat, but they also discharge petroleum hydrocarbons from car traffic as well as high pH surface water that further degrades water quality within West Brook. This point source pollution has adverse impacts on trout. An upstream project area was previously restored in 2013; however, given the impacts from changing climate conditions as well ongoing upstream land uses, an adaptive management approach is being applied to the upstream project area in order to repair, enhance, and fortify the previous restoration project. The project achieved ecological uplift within West Brook through the following activities:
1) Restore the lower reach of West Brook downstream through the removal of large debris and the remaining wooden dam in Tuckaway Pool and to restore the pools as well as the Medial Bar.
2) Repair and enhance trout habitat within the upper reach of the West Brook on the property upstream by repairing the existing weir that was damaged, reinstating and reconnecting the thalweg, deepening pool habitat, enhancing spawning habitat, and stabilizing banks.
3) Place biofiltration/sediment traps in partnership with Rutgers University and upstream stakeholders to trap excess sediment and petroleum hydrocarbons at outfall locations and to protect against the acidification.
