Jenkins Creek Bank Stabilization

The north bank along Jenkins Creek located upstream of County Road 80 had been eroding for years. The progression of the erosion slowly consumed valuable farm land. This became a concern when the erosion began to affect the roadway embankment. That embankment supported the north bridge abutment that carried the adjacent County Road. The property owner made several attempts to mitigate the erosion by installing concrete rubble and rip-rap. This effort temporarily reduced the erosion until a heavy rainfall event displaced the material. The remaining displaced concrete and rip-rap redirected flow toward the north embankment. This accelerated the rate of erosion.

The Jasper County Commission contacted Allgeier, Martin (AMA) to develop a solution. The solution needed to reduce erosion, restore lost farm ground, and protect the roadway embankment and bridge from further erosion. AMA analyzed stream velocities and the predominant streambed material. From the analysis, AMA determined that “Bend Way Weirs” would provide the best level of erosion protection. One of the major advantages of utilizing Bend Way Weirs is that they utilize the natural flow of water to restore sediment and natural streambed materials along the protected embankment. The use of these weirs not only protects an embankment, but will restore material lost in the embankment. As a final measure of protection, a heavy rock blanket was keyed into the embankment and transitioned into the bridge opening.