Town Brook at Quincy

From a trickle in the Blue Hills to the vast Atlantic, Town Brook at Quincy has a story to tell. It’s not just a picturesque stream. It’s a vital artery that has shaped Quincy’s history and continues to influence its future. Town Brook at Quincy begins in the tranquil freshwater wetlands of the Blue Hills Reservation. It then embarks on a nearly four-mile journey through Quincy, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean just south of Boston Harbor. This urban waterway has played a crucial role as the primary stormwater drainage system for downtown Quincy. In 1998, a project diverted flood flows away from downtown, impacting the watershed’s quality. This decision spurred the city to allocate a portion of its $1 billion Downtown Revitalization Project to address the issue. Town Brook at Quincy wasn’t always the smoothly flowing channel you see today. For over a century, it flowed through a granite culvert beneath numerous buildings. This posed a challenge to the city’s revitalization efforts. In 2012, the first phase of the Town Brook at Quincy relocation was completed. This involved constructing new enclosed culverts and open channels, some with gravel bottoms and low flow benches to improve the habitat for rainbow smelt, a fish that uses the brook as a spawning ground. The project’s next phase tackled the remaining sections of the old Town Brook at Quincy, which still served as a major drainage route. The city hired Woodard & Curran to manage this complex undertaking. The firm designed new drainage systems, oversaw construction, addressed soil and groundwater contamination, and coordinated the project with the city, developers, businesses, and residents. Imagine the logistical feat of working in a bustling urban environment. It took four months just to excavate and support the surrounding roadways, utilities, and buildings. The old 11-foot by 6-foot granite culvert was replaced with a slightly smaller one, running approximately 1,100 feet. In some sections, the culvert ran right next to building foundations, even passing under a public walkway. The work was intricate and demanding, requiring underpinning of adjacent structures and extensive shoring of Hancock Street to allow the culvert’s transition. Even as recent as 2019, work continued to finalize the Town Brook at Quincy project, including enhancing stormwater quality by installing collection systems, creating green spaces, and remediating contaminated soil. The revitalization of Town Brook at Quincy has been a successful public-private partnership. The investment in stormwater infrastructure has resulted in a more efficient drainage system, a healthier watershed, and a revitalized downtown economy. The project also freed up 14 acres for development, including a parking garage, residential buildings, commercial spaces, and public parkland.