Sand Creek project dedicated

Back in 2003, city engineer Suzanne Loomis told city commissioners the Sand Creek restoration project would involve construction “chaos” but would be worth it in the end.

“Aesthetically, it won’t be pretty,” Loomis was quoted in the Kansan in July 2003. “When it is completed, it will be great.”

A dedication Monday marked the end of the long-awaited project, and Loomis’ prediction seemed to ring true, as leaders heaped praise upon the project to restore the banks of Sand Creek and create new plantings and a wetlands restoration area. Construction on the project began in March 2008.

Vice-mayor Willis Heck, who welcomed the crowd to what he called a “historic occasion in Newton,” said Sand Creek is “now more than a drainage system. It is a destination for citizens and community visitors.”

The creek, which runs “through the heart of Newton,” Heck said, is a more “environmentally healthy” Sand Creek and noted the tree plantings along about two miles of pathway constructed, as well as the 35-acre wetlands area.

“It is a sustainable environmental improvement,” he said.

Heck praised those involved in the project, including the Corps of Engineers staff, contractor UCI and its subcontractors, city staff and Rep. Todd Tiahrt, who along with Sen. Sam Brownback and Sen. Pat Roberts, helped secure $5 million in federal funding for the project. The total cost of the project was $12 million.

Tiahrt was on hand to mark the occasion, and he called the project a “great success story.”

“I’m here to say congratulations,” he said in his brief remarks.

Col. Anthony Funkhouser, commander of the Tulsa District Corps of Engineers, said the execution of the project was “relatively short” when compared to the planning process, which was more than 10 years in the making.

The Corps mandated improvements to the creek in 1997. The city initially considered a phased-in plan, but the Corps did not approve that approach. The $5 million of federal funding was secured through federal environmental restoration funds.

The goals of the project were bank restoration, hardwood planting areas and a wetlands area. Original plans called for work to be done between First Street and Main Street. Because of cost underruns by the Corps, the city was able to expand the project south of First Street on the east bank.

The project included placing quarry stone along the banks below the waterline to about 2 feet above normal water depth, and building a concrete walking and biking trail, which maintenance vehicles can use. Dirt was added in some places and removed in others, and retaining walls were constructed in places along the trails and the banks of the creek as needed.

Heck noted in his speech the recent project isn’t the first on Sand Creek. He said it was 42 years ago this month when work was completed on a Corps of Engineers project to widen the Sand Creek channel to help alleviate flooding in the center of town.

Kem Nicodemus moved with her parents into a house on the banks of Sand Creek in 1968, the same house she now lives in with her husband, so she remembers both the previous and current projects.

“We were impressed then, but even more so now,” she said. She said Newton now has the “look of a city.”

She expects to see more animals and wildlife along the creek and already has spotted canoes and small boats on the creek. She said as with the 1960s project, “the difference is between night and day.”

Jim Heineke, who was city manager during much of the planning process of the project, said he has a sense of relief the project is done, but he said he was proud to be a part of it. He called it a “great improvement” and said he expects it to get even better.

“A year from now, it will grow into something even more beautiful,” he said.