This page is in progress, and will be updated with new information about this important project as it continues.
The Office of the Duke Forest — with help from faculty and students at the Nicholas School — endeavors to restore an important section of New Hope Creek and its habitat through the removal and replacement of a well-known bridge installed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and a partial dam further downstream.
For nearly nine decades, the Concrete Bridge allowed vehicles and pedestrians to pass over New Hope Creek while culverts in the bridge conducted its flow. Unfortunately, this success in function caused a series of unintended consequences that continuously disturb the stream ecosystem. High flows overtop the bridge and scour the stream bed and stream banks immediately downstream. Water impounds upstream of the bridge, allowing sediments to blanket the stream bed and alter the water quality. Permanently clogged culverts exacerbate these effects. And while some water does pass through, most aquatic species probably cannot, including the federally threatened Atlantic Pigtoe mussel (Fusconaia masoni) and one of its host species, the Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus).
The new bridge – one that will span the entire creek to allow unimpeded flow and the restoration of the system’s dynamic equilibrium – requires complex engineering and logistics. This important restoration project depends on funding from a mix of sources: highly-competitive grants, matches from the Office of the Duke Forest, and importantly, from generous gifts made by conservation-minded donors.
If you are interested in supporting this project, please email restore-nhc@duke.edu.
