WEEHAWKEN WATERFRONT PARK
LOCATION: WEEHAWKEN, NJ
CLIENT: TOWNSHIP OF WEEHAWKEN and ROSELAND PROPERTY COMPANY
MARKET SECTOR: PUBLIC - HOSPITALITY
THE OPPORTUNITY
PS&S provided site civil engineering services and environmental permitting services for the Weehawken Waterfront Park, located on the Hudson River. The completed Phase I of the 14.6-acre park includes such amenities as baseball fields, a football field and track, tennis courts, walking trails and an exercise station. Phase II comprises a multipurpose rink, a pavilion, a swimming pool and a kayak/boat launch. In addition, a segment of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway was constructed at this site, providing areas for passive recreation. The environmental permitting services provided for the Weehawken Waterfront Park included the preparation and submittal of a Waterfront Development Permit and a Green Acres Diversion.
THE CHALLENGE
The location of the Park was a brownfield site contaminated with chromate waste and historic fill. Because the northern half of the site is located within the easement for the Lincoln Tunnel, the Tunnel authority imposed significant restrictions on the placement of fill in that portion of the property. Further obstacles were posed by the site’s proximity to the Hudson River, which complicated the design of the sub-drainage system.
THE PS&S SOLUTION
Under a NJ Department of Environmental Protection-approved Remedial Action Work plan, prepared by another firm and engineered by PS&S, areas of chromate waste with hexavalent chromium were capped with a specifically designed impervious chromium cap, which in turn was overlaid by site improvements or a soil cap. Historic fill was remediated by conventional capping and the establishment of Deed Notices. In landscaped areas, the cap is composed of a permeable geotextile marker layer overlain with certified clean soil material suitable to support vegetation.