Rehabilitation and stabilization were performed for the historic stone wall and towpath along the C&O Canal’s Big Slackwater trail.
The existing towpath in the Big Slackwater area of the C&O Canal National Historic Park runs for more than three miles through Downsville, Maryland. According to historical data, the towpath was not maintained after the canal ceased operation in 1924. The path had become impassable, with park visitors diverted along public roads to bypass unsafe conditions.
Keast & Hood was part of a team retained by the National Park Service to perform a structural condition assessment and to implement design alternatives for stabilizing the pathway and its historic coursed rubble stone walls. Existing conditions included fallen trees, sloped earth banks with missing or unstable wall sections, unstable soil conditions, and loose and unstable rock formations. Stabilization was designed to provide continuous, safe access along the towpath for pedestrians and emergency vehicles. Strategies were developed that minimized both the amount of new construction materials and onsite labor for limited environmental impact.
The project earned a 2013 Grand Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering from the Structural Engineers Association of Metropolitan Washington and a 2013 Excellence in Concrete Award from the Maryland Chapter of the American Concrete Institute.
Click to view Big Slackwater video footage prepared by general contractor Cianbro Corporation on the Canal Trust website
Rehabilitation and stabilization were performed for the historic stone wall and towpath along the C&O Canal’s Big Slackwater trail.
The existing towpath in the Big Slackwater area of the C&O Canal National Historic Park runs for more than three miles through Downsville, Maryland. According to historical data, the towpath was not maintained after the canal ceased operation in 1924. The path had become impassable, with park visitors diverted along public roads to bypass unsafe conditions.
Keast & Hood was part of a team retained by the National Park Service to perform a structural condition assessment and to implement design alternatives for stabilizing the pathway and its historic coursed rubble stone walls. Existing conditions included fallen trees, sloped earth banks with missing or unstable wall sections, unstable soil conditions, and loose and unstable rock formations. Stabilization was designed to provide continuous, safe access along the towpath for pedestrians and emergency vehicles. Strategies were developed that minimized both the amount of new construction materials and onsite labor for limited environmental impact.
The project earned a 2013 Grand Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering from the Structural Engineers Association of Metropolitan Washington and a 2013 Excellence in Concrete Award from the Maryland Chapter of the American Concrete Institute.
Click to view Big Slackwater video footage prepared by general contractor Cianbro Corporation on the Canal Trust website
CLIENT: HDR, Inc. (feasibility study) and Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects, LLC (construction documents)
LOCATION: Downsville, MD
TYPE: Cultural, Government, Historic, Landscape, Special, SERVICES: Condition Assessment, Emergency Stabilization, Historic Preservation, Renovation, Restoration, MATERIALS: Concrete, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
