Muddy River Restoration Project
Department of Public Works Commissioner Erin Chute is
pleased to share that the Town of Brookline recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the completion of Phase
2 of the Muddy River Flood Risk Management Project in
Boston and Brookline.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Wednesday,
Nov. 29, 2023 to celebrate the completion of Phase 2 of the
project, which was initiated in response to a storm event in
1996 that resulted in overtopping of the banks of the
Muddy River as well as several tributary areas, particularly
Stony Brook. The stormwater that was not contained by
the Muddy River caused severe flooding and extensive damage to the Green Line Station of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, local hospitals, schools and
homes.
Phase 1 of the project was completed in March of 2019.
Phase 1 work included the replacement of two undersized
culverts, daylighting two sections of the river, and
modification of a bridge and culvert headwall.
The Phase 2 construction contract was awarded in
February 2020 and major construction was completed in
October 2023. Phase 2 work consisted of dredging
approximately 91,000 cubic yards of sediment to increase
the flow capacity of the river, and the restoration of banks and historic landscape in those portions of the landscape
impacted by the project.
The Muddy River Restoration Project Maintenance and Management Oversight Committee (MMOC), an independent oversight body for the Muddy River Project established by the Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, maintains a website - www.muddyrivermmoc.org - to provide information about the Project.