Lower Shore Drive Over Five Mile Creek Box Culvert

GFA worked with the Emmet County Road Commission and the Little Traverse Bay of Odawa Indians for a stream crossing replacement on Loewr Shore Drive over Five Mile Creek near Harbor Springs, Michigan. The project was completed with grant funding from the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The existing stream crossing conveyed the flows from a 5 square mile watershed and consisted of an undersized 5 foot diameter corrugated metal culvert that was hindering stream flows and fish passage due to perched conditions and turbulent flows at the crossing. GFA performed a Type, Span & Length (TS&L) analysis on the crossing to evaluate stream crossing options including box culverts, open bottom arches and timber bridges, and it was determined that a concrete box culvert was the most suitable option for this crossing due do the underlying soil conditions and fish passage given the crossings proximity to the creeks outlet to Lake Michigan 100 feet away.  The crossing replacement included the installation of a new 12' wide by 8' tall concrete box culvert that spanned 48' with integrated riffles and precast headwalls and wingwall, installing new guardrail, and streambed improvements. The project was completed in the summer of 2024 by J & N Construction. GFA provided full construction engineering, testing and inspection in accordance with NRCS requirements and construction staking for the project. Since construction was completed, natural flows have returned to Five Mile Creek at the crossing.