The design-build team for this slope stabilization project, comprising the National Park Service, Drill Tech Drilling and Shoring, Brierley Associates, and Gannett Fleming was awarded the Outstanding Environmental & Engineering Geologic Project Award at the AEG conference on September 11, 2024.
The 184.5-mile Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath is considered the backbone of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail network. The towpath is part an off-road recreational trail stretching 335 miles from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC.
Due to rockfall events and concern for public safety about 1000-ft of the towpath downstream of the historic Paw Paw Tunnel was closed in November 2020 by the National Park Service. Brierley Associates teamed with DrillTech Drilling and Shoring and Apex Rockfall to develop a rapid Design-Build rock slope stabilization and remediation program for this historic and difficult to access site.
For more information about the project, read the detailed description that AEG published in the conference program.