Background

Maheras Gentry Park is located on 52 acres of riverfront land that was designated for park use by Detroit’s Common Counsel in the 1940’s. Between 1998 and 2002, $1.2 million was obtained from a variety of governmental and private sources to refurbish the park. That funding was used to construct a new recreation building, a swimming pool, five baseball diamonds, basketball courts, soccer fields, a bike trail, and other recreational areas.

On the riverfront is a fishing pond, canals, and foot bridges that enable walking throughout the park. Maheras Gentry Park also serves as the starting point for the Detroit Historical Canal Kayak Tour. Visitors can Kayak to the Detroit River from the park and upstream to the historic canals.

Site Restoration

Detroit hired TSP to design and build a long-term solution for bank stabilization and the integrity of the pedestrian bridge approach. TSP worked with a structural engineering subcontractor to develop the necessary design and receive approval from the Owner.

TSP worked closely with the Owner to prepare the site for construction. The construction crew secured both pedestrian bridge approaches for safety and access and secured the parking lot for construction vehicles and material staging. TSP took care to ensure the safety of park visitors so that the park could remain open during construction.

Experienced laborers restored the site according to the approved plan. Restoration included:

Excavation and reshaping of riverbanks.

Armoring riverbanks with over 500 tons of limestone aggregate, rip-rap, and slab armor.

Backfilling 100 tons of Class II sand.

Installing new concrete bridge approaches.

Restoring sidewalks and turf grass.

A freak tornado hit the project site during construction which uprooted trees, damaged utilities, and likely moved some of the limestone armor. TSP re-set the armor stone and helped the Owner remove damaged trees. Thanks to the effort of TSP’s staff, no time was lost from the project schedule.