As a crane slowly lifted a makeshift dam from its new channel, McCoys Creek was again connected to the St. Johns River on Oct. 2.
The removal of the barrier marked a key step toward completion of the project that began in 2019 to deepen, widen and reroute the creek to its original channel to increase its capacity and reduce its risk of flooding.
That work was part of a larger flood protection project that involved the removal of concrete culverts and the reintroduction of natural flora and wetlands along its banks.
The city reported the project cost in March at $66.9 million, but did not immediately respond to a request for a cost estimate Oct. 2.
During an event that drew city officials, media members and onlookers, crews pulled several pieces of sheet metal from the creek that served as the dam during restoration work.
Now, the creek again flows into the St. Johns River in Brooklyn, just north of its previous channel that took it under The Florida Times-Union campus.
“We’re not just restoring a waterway. We are restoring a piece of Jacksonville history, its ecology and of course, its heart for decades,” Mayor Donna Deegan said. “This project is about so much more than moving dirt and water. It is about resilience.”
“McCoy’s Creek has been listed as the No. 1 flooding priority in the city’s local mitigation strategy for decades,” said Kay Ehas, the CEO of Groundwork Jacksonville.
Ehas’ organization provided the city with plans for the creek’s restoration and created a task force to examine ways to reduce its flood risk.
“[The restoration] not only reduces flooding, it will significantly improve water quality, creates great habitats for fish and wildlife, and provides recreational access,” Ehas said.
The WSP professional services consulting firm and SCAPE Landscape Architecture formed the design team for the restoration project. CDM Smith engineering worked on stream remodeling and utility design. GAI Consultants and Meskel & Associates Engineering provided consulting and J.B. Coxwell Contracting Inc. was the city’s construction partner.
Near the St. Johns River, crews added concrete bulkheads, which city officials said matched the aesthetic of the Downtown area. Further upstream, crews created wetland and vegetation for fish and wildlife habitats.
A second phase of restoration is planned for the creek’s path through Brooklyn. In total, the project is expected to create 2 feet of benefit in flood reduction.
The creek’s relocated channel is east of the One Riverside mixed-use development that is on the site of the Times-Union campus. Its structures were demolished in 2022.
The city plans to build a park along the north side of newly “daylighted” creek channel. The park is designed to become part of the Emerald Trail, the 30-mile system of trails under construction in and around Downtown Jacksonville.
Other related work includes replacing an elevated section of the Riverwalk that was removed for the creek project. The project is designed partly to encourage recreation, such as kayaking on the creek and walking, bicycling and running along the Riverwalk and pathways along the channel.
The city says completion is expected by the end of the year.
“Projects like this one are key to our Emerald Trail to reconnecting communities into building a healthier, more resilient Jacksonville, the Jacksonville that we all want and deserve,” Deegan said.
