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Bolin Creek trail work in Chapel Hill raises erosion, water concerns AaA aA 1 'IOth, 2015 1:::1y "I "'arriirrruy (airU1313 1grubbC@newsobserver.com CHAPEL HILL The once - narrow Bolin Creek trail that wound between the creek and steep hills along Umstead Drive is now wide and flat, littered with loose rocks and several freshly cut trees. Since work on phase 3 of the Bolin Creek Greenway started in June, neighbors and others have grown concerned about the work and how it could harm the creek. The area also is known for flooding during moderate and heavy rains. "The fact is that this small road, this paved 10 -foot greenway, is going to be wedged between a very steep bank and a creek, and that is going to be terrifically difficult to do without damaging the creek," said Julie McClintock, president of the nonprofit Friends of Bolin Creek. The creek could appear cloudier over the next few weeks, town stormwater engineer Chris Jensen said, but steps are being taken to control erosion and water quality. Contractor S &C Construction is using traditional black mesh erosion fencing in some areas but has installed waddles — rolls of coconut fiber matting — in rocky, compacted areas along the creek. The waddles are moved outside the work zone during construction. The work is challenging, said Bill Webster, Parks and Recreation planning and development manager, but S &C Construction has extensive experience building bridges and other projects in wetland areas. The existing Bolin Creek Greenway — 1.5 miles of 10- foot -wide asphalt — connects Community Center Park on Estes Drive with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, just south of the Chapel Hill Police Department. The half -mile, concrete connection from MILK Boulevard to Umstead Park could take nearly a year to build and cost $2.2 million. Pedestrians and cyclists, once it's finished, will pass through a 37- by 16 -foot, arched culvert under MILK Boulevard, going up the hill and across a Bolin Creek bridge on the other side. The greenway then crosses Umstead Drive and follows an abandoned sewer easement west along the creek's southern banks to a planned tunnel under Pritchard Avenue Extension and the park. The project also will add a sidewalk to Umstead Drive, from MILK Boulevard to the new trail crossing, and replace a wooden bridge in the park with a steel one. The new bridge will form a future connection to Tanyard Branch trail, the Northside neighborhood and downtown.